Question:
I was wondering if any one felt as if surgery might not work for them ?

I am still eating regular foods and I was wondering when do I start my liquid diet my surgery is on the 20th of April 2010. I was just wondering will this sleeve operation work for some one like me a big eater.    — Poetry_and_Song (posted on April 11, 2010)

April 11, 2010
Hi Toni! I thought the same thing. What if I'm the ONE person this doesn't work for? Now, just three weeks post-op, I've lost 30lbs. I had RNY, but I can't imagine you will be the medical marvel that has NO success. I think 99% of people who go through WLS are big eaters. I haven't had an appetite since surgery, so honestly, eating is sometimes a chore. Also, my surgeon didn't require a pre-op diet. He said it's torture enough to have to do the liquids afterwards (and he was right!). Call your doctor and ask about the pre-op diet if you're concerned though. Good luck!
   — spitfire0379

April 11, 2010
Hi Toni! I never thought the surgery wouldn't work for me, but then again, I'd studied it for about 5 years before I finally decided that I had to do it. The thing to remember is this - WLS surgery, no matter what kind you have, is NOT A MAGIC BULLET. It is a TOOL. Oh sure, it does the work for you for the first 6 months or so, but then you have to take over. I actually began preparing for the surgery (I had RNY specifically because I WANTED the consequences of over-eating to be there as a threat to me so I WOULDN'T over-eat) in September, by visiting my surgeon's dietician, and getting instruction from her on how I would be eating AFTER the surgery. I was so different from how I was currently eating that I couldn't for the life of me see how it was going to work. I had to go from no breakfast at all to eating breakfast within an hour of getting up, and then eating another meal every three hours during the day, for a total of 6 meals of between 1200 and 1500 calories a day, with about 75% of that being protein. I had to learn to eat my protein first, then my carbs (and preferably the carbs were vegetables, fruits and whole grains - no white carbs at all - meaning no potatoes, no white rice, no white pasta, no white bread, no popcorn, etc.). I did all that for 6 months before surgery so that I could get used to eating that way afterwards (although in much smaller quantities and calories). You have to develop a whole new relationship to food, so if you're having the surgery in less than 10 days, I'd try and come to grips with that right away. You can't stay a "big eater" after surgery, or even TRY to eat like you did before, because otherwise, you'll talk yourself right into non-compliance and eventual failure. Your tool is there to help you learn how NOT to be a big eater....it reinforces that in the beginning, but once you're all healed up, it's up to YOU to continue to eat according to your surgeon's plan and remember to eat just until you're satisfied and not until you're full, and to develop a healthy relationship with the right kinds of foods. Oh, and by the way, I never had to do the liquid diet thing, either, just for one day prior to surgery. I was surprised that I didn't even have to do a bowel prep. I don't know why some doctors require it and others don't. But I know that most doctors would prefer (some demand) that you lose at least 10% of your body weight before surgery, mostly because it makes it easier to maneuver around the liver, but also because it says to them that you are dedicated and committed to changing your life. I will send energy that you find the strength to walk this new path, live joyfully this second chance at life and health you're being given. Blessings to you, Erica.
   — Erica Alikchihoo

April 11, 2010
Erica said it all so well. I have been hearing lately at folks who have had this surgery 5 years out start to gain weight, I am freakinggggggggggggg out on this. Right now I am having major problems with losing too weight,I am under my goal, but I sure do not want to gain any.
   — FSUMom

April 11, 2010
I felt the exact same way you describe. I thought "this works for everyone else but it won't work for me." You just have to go through it and then you will find out the truth of the situation. When it happens for you, you will be amazed. I think theres loads of people out there who have the same feeling. Welcome to the CLUB!! Good luck.
   — katiecakes

April 12, 2010
I have to tell you - I KNEW it wouldn't work for me! I had the BPD/DS June '08. I chose to have WLS because I was Super Morbidly Obese (it was the 'super' that really got to me! Oh yeah, the high BP, Diabetes, heart issues, etc... that all added into it, too ;-) I thought I might get down to 300 lbs (from >400), but beyond that was a pipe dream... I am now 180 lbs with a BMI of ~24 (i.e. NORMAL!) without virtually every co-morbidity! I can run on the treadmill for 45 min at a time, blah blah blah... all those things I knew wouldn't be in *my* success story! WLS is a tool - if you use it, it *WILL* work! (btw - I eat my 90-120 gm of protein/day - I eat single serving protein-focussed meals 3x/day, snack through the day (nuts/meats/cheeses), english muffin w/butter&Peanut butter or w/cream cheese before bed - in other words - I still eat - I just eat differently, more controlled, less, and my body processes it differently)
   — RachelA

April 12, 2010
I thought I'd eventually gain the weight back with a sleeve since it will expand over time. I wondered if my appetite would come back as strong as ever when the stomach expanded. Plus, I've been a horrible dieter all of my adult life so I had no faith in my ability to stick with a strict diet. For me the only WLS that I felt comfortable with was the DS since it provided the restriction of the sleeve and the malapsorption that I felt I needed for long term weight loss. It also afforded me the most normal diet to follow. So far it's been a breeze to stick to but I'm not quite a year post-op.
   — Mike A.

April 12, 2010
Toni -- Next Saturday, I will celebrate the 10th anniversary of my Vertical Banded Gastroplasty -- which is a long time to be post-op, true; so long, in fact, they don't even do that particular procedure any more. On that day, I was convinced beyond convinced that I would, of course, be the one and only person in the history of all WLS that never lost an ounce post-op. After all, I had failed (and failed, and failed, and failed, and then failed again) at dieting and keeping off about 150 pounds, which I gained and lost three or four times in less than ten years. But as someone else pointed out, this surgery is a TOOL -- and a damned fine one, too, if I do say. I was, as you are (but won't be for long), an ENORMOUS eater -- anything, everything, all the time, anytime. For the last decade, I've been very vigilant (it's that "this surgery is a tool" thing) about what I eat and how much. My pouch is, of course, bigger than it was -- when I woke up from my surgery it was about the size of a small egg -- but it's still small, because a couple of extra bites will STILL make me throw up and give me a pain under the ribs that simply isn't worth whatever I want to put in my mouth. I still dream of cheeseburgers but mostly make do with a small bite, because a bigger bite or two will make me so sick I'll be half-wishing for death. It's a new way of life that you will enter with baby steps, so don't feel like you have to go rushing into one stage or another of eating. My favourite dinners are still soup and a couple of crackers, or a small soup and salad. Your surgery will work if you DO the work -- and best wishes to you on the 20th.
   — Cheryl Denomy