BabySheldon

Thank you Carol for your kind and insightful words ....you're correct .....I actually ended up going through with the surgery and after about 10 days I'm feeling pretty good...it was rough at first but now I have no regrets .....a lot of that is due to the support from this site thank you for for everything :-) Sheldon

Confessions of a 'Scaredy Cat' 1. I am terrified of having this surgery. Everything about it scares me to death. 2. I am an extreme emetaphobe (fear of vomiting) and I am afraid this will send me over the edge. 3. I can completely give up the food but I don't want to give up my stomach, its been good to me over the years and I feel a strange attachment to it. It seems unfair to punish my stomach for sins of my mouth... 4. I hate the unknown...what if the new tummy doesn't like this or that? What if I can't drink Water again? (My favorite) 5. I loathe the thought that someone might judge me...think I took the easy way out...give me less validation for my efforts. 6. I am afraid that it could be a huge regret and I can't ever recover from. I will have to live with a new body part that I do not know or do not like. 7. I realize this will not solve my problems. It could make things better, but I'm scared it will make things worse. 8. It seemed like a good idea for a last ditch effort to save myself from myself.....but with this sheer terror, I may not be able to do this. The lawyer in me HATES uncertainty.... Sheldon

Hi Ribearty, thank you so much for your kind words ....I feel incredibly lucky to not have had any complications as well...... I know lots of folks that were successful revision patients ......I'm glad that you were able to get rid of your lap band as I understand that it can cause quite a few problems ...I'm happy to know that everything came out okay For you too :-)

Clearly understood....here is a dirty little secret.... some surgeons will often their patients appetite suppressant's during the two week liquid phase... this will allow some patients to stay on plan and meat their nutrition goals with out sabotaging the opportunity for surgery or the outcome that the surgeon requires...so if you really believe that you will have a difficult Time managing your hunger please work with your surgeon and see if an appetite suppressant could be a solution... good luck there's no doubt that you can do this! Sheldon

Did your medical team send you home with pain meds? Most people get narcotic pain medication to use either during the day or particularly at night so if you're not using any pain management you can resolve some of this discomfort by using the medicine that they may have prescribed for you..good luck and congratulations! Sheldon

Good for you sweeetie... You have worked very hard and you deserve it! Sheldon

That is an awesome video! I hadn't seen it before, I hadn't even seen it on YouTube...very very good thank you for sharing! Sheldon

Hi Endless! You words are direct and accurate....i thought about backing out, but realized i don't want go back to the old way i have been managing my health.... I thought about the point you drove home....its irreversible.....that kinda thing scares me....but one of the other ladies on the board reminded me that its still my stomach and will continue to function as such....that was also helpful for me to wrap my head around this... So I'm 4 days post op, and feeling much, much better....i am working on getting my fluids in and completely focused on that head game....that is a challenge! You said it best! Appreciate your candor....all the folks on this board are amazing! Sheldon - 4 days post op...

I hear you loud and clear LoobyLou, I am don't have any existing health problems except for the diabetes that I got when I was pregnant. But because I didn't change my eating habits, it stayed and was getting worse. I think that's awesome that you're drinking (water/fluids) I love to drink myself and as I start to feel better I start to realize that this was a good decision. I just hate to be in a lot of pain. I'm always going to have a great anxiety around pain because I don't have a high pain threshold.... Even knowing that I'm Clear Liquids, I'm happy to not be thinking about food or Being stimulated by it....and if a commercial comes on the television has food I'll change the channel... and not because I think it's going be a problem.....I just don't want to deal with food right now ....I need just want to focus on my healthy choices ....getting active ....getting the fit and ....then I don't want to be put myself in a mindset where I'm thinking about what I'm going to eat when I'm able to eat...... I don't want that life anymore..... I want to have a healthy Life for myself and my children so I love not feeling hungry or craving food and I love having my blood glucose control.... your words are dead on sister... Sheldon is a loser....well i will be in time...lol

Hi Miss Butterpants I loved reading your testimony here. I agree with you completely and i too almost backed out at the last minute as well, but like you and many of us, I did this for my family. I have two small children at home that I love dearly. I also want to do whatever I can to avoid bigger risk factors such as cancer or severe diabetes. Fortunately from doing lots of research I knew that I could have a rough time after surgery. For some people it's a breeze but for some people like me it was really rough as I had not been in an operating room for 10 years. I have never had elective surgery and I have not been overweight my entire life so there's always that ounce about this I do know could be better different route. Once I read my responses from the night I had my meltdown from you you guys, I realized I didn't have anything to turn back to. I don't want to go back to my poor eating habits, I don't want to go back to sugar and carbohydrate addiction, I don't want to go back to feeling so tired and so sluggish that I don't want to do all the fun stuff with my kids so, it was very helpful to hear those words because I knew I didn't have any Safehaven other than having this done so that I could have a better life. So now I am post operative....the first two days were very very difficult... on the third day I started to feel like myself a little bit and today I'm feeling pretty good... I still have a lot of gas in my belly and my incision is little tender but that's muscle. Now my biggest job is to make sure I keep all of my liquids up because I'm not on any more Fluid support so sip sip sip here I go. I really like your story and I'm really grateful that you shared it with me.. it was very helpful in making me look internally at how I was feeling and why I was feeling this way I'm glad I move forward with the decision to have the procedure and I'm glad I'm past the physically most painful part.... thank you for everything Miss Butterpants. Sheldon - 4 days post op...

Hi Lori thank you so much for your encouragement.... Yea I got really really scared when I got like within 48 hours of the surgery however by the time they rolled me into preoperative care I had resigned myself emotionally that the surgery was going to happen. It was God's will was my will and I would be okay with whatever the outcome was but it turned out just fine. I spent four days in the hospital I'm home today. I did get an outpouring of support which was very welcome and needed. The water issues are interesting ones because when I was in the hospital, I was taking too big of gulps and it was upsetting my tiny tummy so I realized I had to take little baby gulps. However, even in the four days since I had the procedure I can now take a half of a full mouth of Fluid which feels huge to me. That was such a huge psychological win for me, I just wanted to be able to put liquid in my mouth at a reasonable volume and and be able to swallow it. So insofar I'm feeling pretty good....still have lots of gas pain but I am working on that, doing lots of walking. I think it's awesome that you work in the hospital. I have a huge appreciation for people who work in hospitals. I felt so incredibly vulnerable in the hospital. the last time I had been hospitalized was when I had my C-section when I gave birth to my twins, so hospitals are not a place I spend a lot of time. The nurses that supported my care were incredible, my doctors were absolutely incredible, sympathetic, nurturing with outstanding bedside manner at a time where I was feeling so vulnerable. I was so pleased to have a sympathetic medical staff... Kudos again, I appreciate your words and I hope to be on the losing bench with you looking fabulous 10 months from now!!!! Thanks! so much Lori

Hey lady thank you so much for your words of encouragement! I feel like when you read my post you totally got it, that's totally my personality. I have to have some sense of control. This whole thing is about giving in and accepting that you can't change something you'd like to be able to change. I was glad to hear you say that you don't like being sick to your stomach either and you're right no one does but with my phobia in a strange way this surgery may have helped me and I only got sick once in the hospital and was no big deal.It was expected because I had embraced the idea that this would be something I would have to face. I don't miss my stomach and as you said it still fully functional's is small but just a lot of psychological games the boiled up when when I got closer to the date. I have been home resting as I was in the hospital for four days. I had zero complications and as long as I continue to progress and feel better I think I will be very excited about this choice so again I really really appreciated your words. I read them several times. I read everybody's but I know that you could really relate to me so let's stay in touch as I will probably have more questions for people as we go along thanks for everything...i don't believe i could of gone through this with out this group...i was ready to walk! Sorry for the typos and run-on sentences....too many drugs...lol

Hi coffee grinder, thank you for your insight :-) I looked at a chart that was in my doctors office and it had that a BMI of 18.5 with a total weight for someone 5'8 as 118 pounds this is probably part of my non-sensibilities. In reality I will be happy if I hit 140 pounds... Thank you for keeping our heads in the game and being realistic about our goals!!! you guys are awesome! 4 days post op.... Sheldon...a official survivor...

Hi Southern Soul... I really appreciate your words of kindness and support I agree that it everyone's personal choice. I think as the date got closer I got very nervous. Maybe this was just a meltdown that I needed to have before facing the reality that my life would be changed completely. I am three days post operative and although the surgery was painful I am starting to feel much better about the surgery and my choices thank you very very much I really was able to use your words of encouragement.

Yes, my goal weight is 118lbs...that gives me a BMI of 18.5..... I have very small bones and was tall/petite before I gained weight. Sheldon

Just 5 people...thats it....my mother just found out two days ago.... Not remotely interested in the harsh judgement.... Shekdon

We are getting sleveed on the same day!

Super Nervous!

I'm still going through my full liquid phase so maybe about 600 Same here...was told to stay between 800- 1200...BabySheldon