Question:
My surgery was post-poned and have new date but Im having 2nd thoughts ? Why .. Help

I was originally scheduled for surgery on 1-6-10 , it was cxl'd due to infection, Im on a anti-biotic for it and now my new surgery date is Feb 10,2010 but my mind is playing tricks on me and Im thinking I dont need it, this is more trouble than its worth,not to mention how frigid scared I am!! I was somewhat releived when I was told 2 days b4 surgery that it was'nt going to happen, I keep thinking Im not as bad as what I think and I can do this on my own, I lost 33lbs to date,its driving me nuts and Im 2nd guessing saying to myself Am I crazy? As I continue to read the Q & A its scaring the hell outta me, so many people have complications .. Is this really worth it and maybe my surgery was cxl'd for a reason, was this a way of god telling me I dont need it,, I know its not any picnic by any stretch of the imagination, this is very serious surgery and Im at a state of confusion,, I know I'll regret it if I dont go through with it, I think Im more scared thaN anything ,someone please help ,me make sense of this ?    — barry l. (posted on January 15, 2010)

January 15, 2010
I completely understand what you are going thru.My first submit to insurance was denied .Then out of the blue I have been contacted a year later from the surgeons office with approval.Then as I previously posted once I went to register at the hospital I had charges I wasn't aware of and was gonna have to pay more money upfront.The surgery was scheduled for Tuesday the 12th and I had to reschedule because of the money issue.Now guess what happened,my Husbands Dad passed on Thursday and we have to cover his expense.I am beginning to wonder is this a sign for me to not get surgery? God works in mysterious ways!
   — davonjack

January 15, 2010
Barry, the very vast majority of people do not have complications. I had RNY two months ago and everything has been SOOOO much better than I had expected, and that was true of all 13 people in my WLS group. The gift of watching my weight keep dropping makes my husband and me SOOOO happy. You questioned whether you might be able to continue to lose weight without surgery; the bigger issue is not whether you can lose it, but how likely are you to keep it off. After my first exposure to the possibility of WLS, I tried yo yo dieting and weight loss for 5 more years. No doubt it made me far more ready and appreciative when I finally did have RNY. I say continue to do your research, pray for Guidance, and see where that takes you. God bless.
   — Janell C.

January 15, 2010
Wow! Something very similar has just happened to me aswell. I was scheduled for surgery on 01/07/2010 and just a couple of days before I was to go out of town for my surgery I was hospitalized for four days with Pancreatitis. I continued to wonder if it was devine intervention,and it could have been, but not necessarily for the surgery part. Had I gotten there and this happened, the surgeons would have post-poned my procedure anyway. I think it is commendable of these Dr.'s to know when to say 'Wait a minute, we need to take care of YOU first.' I am rescheduled for March, and hopefully all will be GREAT! I will keep you in my thoughts! Beth:)
   — BethR0523

January 15, 2010
I think we all struggle with "have we made the right decision" when it gets down to the wire. I, too, had doubts; however, I KNEW BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, that I had no choice this time. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me to finally get help for my addiction. This is not a "magic pill." You will have to do your part. I had been through so much prior to my decision to have surgery, and lost so many lbs over the years, that I knew that I was going to have to go to extreme measures to intervene. I am also working on fixing my head ... I go to therapy once a month. If you do what you are supposed to do, and follow the rules .... you will be successful and feel like a new person in no time. I am 6 1/2 months post op, and down 113 lbs, and feel MAHVELOUS! I prayed daily for confirmation from God about my decision to have surgery, and I did receive it !!!! Good luck!!
   — happypeach

January 15, 2010
Barry, of course only you can decide what's right for your body. But I will say, from reading OH for quite a while, and from my support group, I've learned it's very normal to have second thoughts about surgery. Usually, when we have surgery it's on some sort of serious NEED or EMERGENCY basis where you don't get to think and obsess about it. Weight Loss Surgery is a voluntary procedure, but there's a reason insurance makes the business decision to cover the cost... the outcomes of WLS are statistically much better for we obese folks than NOT having surgery. You may have read or heard... the national stats say that of we obese people who lose weight with just diet and exercise, only 5% are able to keep the weight off after 5 years. Whereas the numbers are more like 80% who keep it off after weight loss surgery. Personally, having tried the diets and stuff, I know this is probably true for me, too. My date is Feb. 9 and I, too am obsessing. Trying to give myself an out, saying maybe I hadn't really considered seriously the effect of surgery and now that I have, I should cancel, what was I thinking, I could do it with diet, blah blah blah. Lately, I've been trying to think about it like the choice given in the movie Matrix... you get to choose between two pills. Take the blue pill, go back to sleep, your life won't change, and you'll never know what you missed. Take the red pill, and you will know the change and wake up to the reality of life. I want to just take the red pill... wake up, lose a lot of weight, deal with all my self-concept issues and health issues and just freakin' fitting into a chair like a normal person and tie my own shoes and... all that. It's going to be weird, it's going to be scary, there will be some pain, but the result will be worth it all. I'm taking the red pill, and focusing on the positive. Sorry if that got preachy, but it comes from being right where you are. Any aware person is going to question themselves, this is major abdominal surgery. The stats say you and I will do well, that we will lose a lot of weight, that our lives will change, and that if we stay with support services like this OH board and our support groups and work the tool, we will keep our weight off and our lives will be a lot better. So many people say "I should have done this earlier in my life." You and I will both be saying that next year at this time!!
   — Greg K.

January 16, 2010
Barry, I know exactly what you are feeling. In fact I had my first surgery date cancelled on me back in July, the day before surgery because the surgeon was doing one last look over all of the patients charts for the next day and he noticed that I had said "yes" to the question of "Have you ever had chest pain". He chose to cancel my surgery and requested that I get a stress test and a cardiac clearance before he would reschedule. Of course, being from Canada, this is no easy task to get done on short notice. However, my family doctor managed to get me in within 3 weeks and I had clearance shortly after. Of course by now I couldn't get the surgery in the summer like I had planned being as I am a teacher that time would have been perfect for me. So I rescheduled for December 3rd, 2009. I was depressed that my surgery was cancelled and yet, relieved as I was fearing the worst and also wondering if I could just do this on my own. Then, I started doing more research and found all these other procedures and starting wondering if the RNY was the best option for me on top of all my other worries. I started to seriously look into the Duodenal Switch and thought that seemed better suited for me and my needs, but this was about a week before my second surgery date. So I decided to put it into God's hands as I was so confused and I didn't know what to do. I figured, if everything went well, then I would have RNY and learn to use this as my tool if God so chose. But, 2 days before my next surgery date, they cancelled on me again because I had a bladder and kidney infection. I decided that this was no fluke. That God must be trying to tell me something. But I don't know if he's telling me to get the DS or just not get surgery at all. I figure he's telling me to get the DS since I've tried and failed at maintaining any weight loss long term. Like you, I have been doing it on my own since the two weeks prior of my second surgery date and have managed to lose 34 lbs so far. But, I am still pursuing the DS option and have had to restart ALL of the process. I go for my sleep test on January 29th and I have my first set of appointments in May to see a surgeon about switching from RNY to DS. I have had to change surgeon and facility for this as no surgeons at the Barix Clinic in Ypsilanti perform the DS. Anyway, I am trying this route and if it all collapses on me again, I know that I am not supposed to have surgery at all. Ohhh and to finish, 3 days after my second surgery date, my back kicked out (like it has many times before since my car accident in 1999, I have 3 compressions in my spine, arthritis, fibromyalgia, sarcoidosis and asthma which requires me to take NSAIDS often) well anyway, my back kicked out so badly that I have been on NSAIDS for the past 7 weeks now and have missed 8 days of work on top of having the two weeks off at Christmas. If I would have had the RNY, I'm not sure how I would have managed to deal with this since NSAIDS are not allowed for the rest of your life (which I was not informed of by the clinic, I was only told to stop them for 2 weeks prior to surgery and I thought it was to prevent bleeding, this is actually how I started looking up other surgeries because my cousin went through her surgery in October and told how her medic alert bracelet has "No NSAIDS") Anyway... loooonnng, very long story later, to say that I'm sure God stopped the surgery to protect me from the pain I'd endure by not being able to take my necessary NSAIDS. Is there anything in particular that you have doubts about when you think of your surgery? If so, maybe God did postpone it for you to work it out. If not, maybe you are still supposed to have this procedure and it will all get resolved the next time they try. Either way, I wish you much success in any journey you chose to take. Do whats best for you, and try to seperate the facts you know, from the feelings you feel, this might help you work out your specific solution that fits you best. Danielle
   — Dandy_DeeDee

January 16, 2010
I'm sure you know why you're having second thoughts. It's because you are about to embark on a life changing and dangerous path. No surgery type is fool proof. No WLS is without the possibility of post-op complications. Maybe you should take the extra time to continue your research - especially what your chances of a long life are if you do nothing. You don't mention what surgery you're going to have so I suggest you look at all of them. Maybe there is another kind that will make things easier for you.
   — Mike A.

January 16, 2010
Barry, wow....lots of advice. I went through diets for 6 mos. & was told insurance will approve in 2-6 wks then 11 wks wks out nothing so my pre cert nurse was called by me & my Dr. 6 times & no phone calls back, so I called her supervisor & amazingly I received a call that day saying I was approved. It doesn't stop there, I was scheduled for RNY gastric on 12/18/09 then called and told that my insurance wanted me to go to Baptist Hosp so they rescheduled for 12/11/09 and on 12/09/09 my pre-op appt with my surgeon was horrible. I didn't like her bedside manner, she was rude, blunt, and very opinionated about going to Baptist Hospital......when I left the office, I was devistated.......I thought & thought as I had been thinking about this surgery for 2 years. I woke up the next morning to call the surgeon & have them cancel the surgery, pick up my $1000.00, and did some research online & made an appointment with another Surgeon. I ended up in very good hands and had my surgery on 12/28/09. I stayed in the hospital 3 days and I'm not going to lie, I thought I had a high pain tolerance BUT I've never had my stomach cut into. Most of the pain you feel afterwards is from the air they put in your stomach to see everything etc......the sooner you walk around the better, I look back now, I went through 1 week of pain with liquid pain medicine so it wasn't that bad. I had my post op appt yesterday & down 21 #'s in 8 days. I have NOT had any dumping (throwing up), or any other problems. Once in awhile I feel a little pinch on one side of my stomach but it's not anything horrible. Your Drs. want you in the best possible condition and it sounds like your surgery was postponed for that reason. I went into surgery with the thought that I might not come out but god looks after those who care enough to try & better their lives. I wish you the best of luck and agree with the person that talked about dieting throughout life & gained the weight back. This is a life change that you possibly will be going through and I can't tell you how good it feels to just not be hungry. I'm blown away everyday on how I can eat a small cup of yougurt, or 1/4 cup of beans and NOT want another bite. I'm actually forcing myself to take in at least 2 proteins a day and working very hard to consume water (flavored) as I have never liked water to begin with. Hope this helps, you've got alot of folks on here that have walked your walk. God Bless......Susan
   — 3decks