Question:
have other pre ops felt like this??

well, i am now 2 weeks preop and i am scared, i am constantly hungry and fretting all the time. i cant decide if i most worried about the op or about giving up my fave foods. i read all the time on here , people saying they didnt feel hungry etc, but then i read now and again that some others mourn the loss of food and are hungry. i so want to be slim.... am i normal ? did other preops feel this way? any help would be fantastic. this site is great. i am from the uk and there doesnt seem to be any support groups here, so i feel alone in this. thanks for your help.    — JULIE B. (posted on May 5, 2003)

May 5, 2003
You are not alone! I had no support or anyone to question,my husband was my only(clueless lol) support, so im also glad I found this web site, just too bad it was well after the surgery. I could only think about being thin and I could care less about the food, even though I did gain 20+ pounds before surgery b/c I went on a last 4mo. eating spree. I think we all had such mixed emotions as you do. This is a hard thing to do, for anyone. I can say this is the hardest thing i've ever done, but I would do it again! Other than the birth of my 3 children and my wedding day....this is my happiest :o) Good luck and know that any of us would be more than happy to help you out!!!
   — Sandy M.

May 5, 2003
Julie, you are soooo normal! I think ALL of us go thru the fretting, worry, regret, afraid emotions as pre-ops. We worry about the surgery itself, we worry about whether we will die on the operating table, whether this surgery will fail us, etc, etc. As a 14 month post-op, there is one thing that I wish someone had told me as a pre-op. I spent the few weeks leading up to my surgery eating everything in sight. Its called "the last supper syndrome" where your afraid you will never be able to eat your comfort foods again and so you try to cram them all in. I also eat when stressed so the combination of worry over this drastic change in my life and the fear of not having my fav foods anymore, caused me to pile on an additional 10 more pounds before my surgery. Its the same 10 pounds that I am struggling to get off right now. The truth is that you will probably be able to eat all your old favs as a post-op, just not in such a great quantity and you may also lose your taste for them too. There is only one pre-op fav that I can't have post-op and that is Chinese food-don't ask me why! Other than that, I do eat all my old comfort food favs, just not as often, and certainly not as much. As for mourning food-the first few weeks post-op you do mourn food-part of that is psychological (head hunger) and the other part is that you are on liquids. Once the liquid stage passes and you are eating solid food again, that usually passes. This site is wonderful for support. Good luck to you-you'll be fine.
   — Cindy R.

May 5, 2003
HI Julie. I think you are feeling the same way I was before my surgery. I wasnt worried about the op itself because I thought that if the worse happened, at least I died while fightiing to be normal. I did worry alot about if I was going to be able to give up my fave foods and stick to the post-op "diet". 4 days after the surgery, I was at the drug store waiting for my RX to be filled. My Mom found me crying my eyes out at the candy stand. She, in her most gentle way, told me to get over it. I dont miss candy or my other comfort foods as much now. I guess I am getting over it. I do slip up every now and then but I'm human. I forgive myself and move on. You will find that you will do the same. Hang in there, You WILL do just fine. You are not alone and you are normal to feel what you are feeling now. If you ever want to chat, send me an e-mail. [email protected] Take care and the best of luck to you. Sidney Open RNY 10-23-02 down 90+
   — Siddy I.

May 5, 2003
There are so many conflicting feelings pre-op. I'm only 6 and a half weeks post op, and to be honest, it has been hard. I knew it would be, since I've lurked on AMOS for almost 2 years, but knowing it and living it are different things. I have to say weeks 2-3 were the worst. I mourned food so bad, got really depressed and pissy with everyone, watched the Food network all day and night...it was bad. Every day is better - relearning to eat is difficult, but I have to say I honestly am rarely hungry, and rarely crave bad things. I have to remind myself to eat, and get full quickly. I saw everyone else saying that, but never thought as a pre-op that it would be like that for me. I can say now that I don't regret my decision. Good luck in whatever you choose! (Open RNY 3/20/03 -44pounds)
   — vittycat

May 5, 2003
You are absolutely normal. Remember to stay focused on the reasons you decided to have this surgery. I wrote down my reasons in a journal to remind myself at times I felt less than strong. I am 13 days post-op and I can honestly say I do not feel hungry. Do I have some "head hunger?" Absolutely, but that is normal too. Overall I feel great and am glad I did this. Pre-surgery, I did a lot of "last suppers" and I am glad I did that too. The mind is a fascinating thing sometimes and sometimes it is just a big ole pain! Just remember what your reasons are for doing this and know that you have thousands of others out there that have or are going through the same thing. I've lost 15 lbs in my 13 days post-op and the head hunger is there but it really pales in comparison to how I feel and I how I know I'm going to feel once I lose the rest of the weight. Hang in there!
   — Kimberly P.

May 5, 2003
Hi there. I am about 4 weeks from my surgery and let me tell you -- just this morning, I started crying in the car on the way to work. Scared? YES! Scared of missing the food? YES! Eating everything in sight? Good grief -- Yes, I was, but have calmed down on that quite a bit. It does worry me about the "mourning" the food. But you know, it's been my best friend (through thick and thicker) so I suspect that I will miss is a great deal at first. However, as my surgeon's office says, "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" and I sure hope that's right! Everytime I think about the day of surgery, I get frightened, but when I think of me 6 months from today, I get really excited. I can't wait to see the changes, but yes -- I'm very nervous. I think that we're definitely normal.
   — Cheryl M.

May 5, 2003
DEAR JULIE, I AM GOING ON 4 WEEKS POST ON 5/6/03. I ALSO FEEL VERY EMOTIONAL ABOUT STILL WANTING TO EAT. I DONT FEEL HUNGRY. BUT JUST SEEING FOOD OR THINKING ABOUT IT DRIVES ME CRAZY. I HOPE THIS WILL END SOON. IF YOU WANT TO E-MAIL ME MY ADDRESS IS [email protected]. I COULD USE SOMEONE TO COMPARE NOTES WITH. THANKS GLORIA
   — GLORIA M.