Meintraining

Great thread. I would love to be a patient advocate for bariatric surgery but that does not exist where I live. (So I compensate by talking quite liberally about my own experience to everybody who will listen to me. Poor things.)
I am greatly interested in obesity research and, had I been younger, certainly would have pursued this as a career. It is such a rich field of research and there are so many avenues to explore within this area. But I'm far too old to go to medical school now.
For me, my WLS has me rethinking so many things...some with regret (the road not taken because I was so fat) and some with pride (the road I took anyway, despite my fat). I will say that I'm better in my chosen career (academic research) because I'm more confident and energetic. I am much present at conferences, always pitching to lead a session, whereas before I would just be a passive audience member.

Yeah he's been telling me what to expect , sent me pics of his hospital dinners. Lol he's not just a friend he's my lawyer too lol.

Hello All,
I am new here. I'm having surgery on Jan. 28th. I'm scared to death and very excited. I look forward to and hope I've found an online community that is active to share my hopes, fears, and accomplishments with as well as learn from those who have been there. I had a lap band in 2007 but have lost only approx 50 lbs. so I've decided to go for the gastric bypass which is what I wanted to do to begin with but was too afraid to go through with it.
I look forward to meeting everyone

Hello Morena22 I'm the 28th also. So is Kenny. So there are three of us and someone on the 27th. Who else is up?

Me too. My op date is jan 14. Hang in there everything will be fine. Think happy thoughts.
Your day is today!!! So excited for you. Looking forward to hearing from you. Good luck!!!!

Thanks for all the sharing.

I have lost 100 pounds already. I have dipped 20 pounds lower than I was and, yes, I have the ups and downs, although they aren't wild swings. Lose 30, regain 10, lose 30 more, regain 10 .. .
I am well aware of the up and down weight issue, having lived it. I just wanted to know if anyone regrets the surgery.

What bothers me is rerouting the way my body converts food to life fuel. A million years of evolution and we trust a few doctors -- men for the most part who invented the procedures and who are very judgmental about fat females (I know fat men have the surgery too) . . I don't trust modern medicine at all and it took about a million years for our digestive tracts to evolve to where they are and then in four decades docs come up with a better plan, incentivised to make money, push meds and suppls with their ressearch paid for by drug corporations . . I don't trust the system.

I know fat cells fight hard to regain weight.

I also know something not all reading know: I have Type I diabetes, diagnosed last year after being told for 10 years I was JType II. If I was Tpe II, I'd have the surgery in a heartbeat for it definitely improves Type II but it does not improve Type I, which is about the pancreas no longer being able to make insulin. My motivations for the surgery changed and I was already deeply skeptical.

I don't really expect to find spuport in a forum of happy WLS patients but I'd sure like some opinoins other than pro-surgery.
I was supposed to have the RnY this Thurs Jan 16 and I just got off the phone postponting. Every corner of my being says 'don't do it'. Do I listen to my inner voice or surgeons who want to cut? I don't know.

My primary care doc initially pushed when she thought I was Type II -- 'type I changes things. My endocrinologist was adamantly against it.

And I am not a compoulsive overeater. I got fat from a drug regimen I was on for 12 years that make me blow up 200 pounds in the blink of an eye. Another reason not to trust medicine, allopathic medicine.

Where do I go for help deciding? Not a rah rah surgery forum like this . . but where?

Oh yes very nervous, hopefully I don't chicken out lol, I had my gall bladder surgery scheduled 2 times over the past few years & canceled I just been dealing with the pain, but I'm ready for a change ready to drop this weight & get to do so much more with my kiddos.

urkeelingme...I do understand how you feel. I also couldn't lose weight with anything I tried, even after having the lapband. I have lost some but the weight came back. So this also is my last option. I do have faith this will work for us and we will not be trapped in a fat body. Good luck with surgery tomorrow. Please keep us updated with how you are feeling

I worry about that to. My surgery is Jan 20 and I have not kept it A secret tonnes of people know and now I worry that I will not live up to my goals! These forums are so supportive and I will just continue reading them to get support especially during tough times

My surgery is 1/15 / 14 and I'm definitely going to be on here afterwards!

Thank you so much for responding :-)I called and someone was supposed to call back and they never did. That gives me hope my surgery won't get cancelled. I know every doc is different it at least it calms my nerves some. Thank you so much

Hello urkillingme. I can totally relate. I even failed at the band. How pathetic am I? I tell very few peeps I even had it because they look at me and I know what they're thinking. What really stinks is I didn't even loose much on a liquid Opti fast diet. Now I hear you loose less going from lap band to gastric, uggg!!!! I hated weight watchers because I was always the pathetic one in the corner that lost .5 lbs to everyone elses 2 to 5 lbs. Really?! Wtf? My husband would loose 5 times more than me and he even gets to eat more!!!!! Whatever. I need to do this and even if I only loose 50 lbs it is still better than being fat and starving. At least I can be skinnier and starving. Best of luck. I look forward to sharing the journey.

Good luck with your upcoming surgery! Mine is Jan 20th and I am from Canada.

I'm so sorry you won't have support. We are all here for you.

We have all tried to lose weight time and time again! If we could have done it without surgery we would have! After every diet I have regained the weight I lost plus some more! This is a last resort and a decision not made lightly. Insurance companies should realize that. I was fortunate in the sense that I only needed approval for my travel costs. Unfortunate that I did not get the classes except for 1 nutrition class. My support is mainly coming from these forums. Thank you all for your posts and encouragement!!

I along with you also started my 2 week liquid diet today. I'm not suppose to start it until the 25th but I wanted my body to get adjusted to not eating solids, just in case I cave in! So far so good. I decided to keep myself busy. The worst part was cooking Breakfast this morning; the smell of bacon was getting to me. I grab one, put it in my mouth and just spit it back out before even attempting to chew. I am stronger than this, I can do it is what I keep telling myself. I just hope it gets better as the seconds, minutes, hours, and days go by. We can do it!

So glad there's so many of us to support each other. I'm excited for my health and life to continue getting better and better!

This makes a lot of sense.
Like any dieter wls or not, we all lose loads during the first weeks and then it slows up.
X

Hello All,
I am new here. I'm having surgery on Jan. 28th. I'm scared to death and very excited. I look forward to and hope I've found an online community that is active to share my hopes, fears, and accomplishments with as well as learn from those who have been there. I had a lap band in 2007 but have lost only approx 50 lbs. so I've decided to go for the gastric bypass which is what I wanted to do to begin with but was too afraid to go through with it.
I look forward to meeting everyone

Hello all, my surgery date is Jan. 28th.

It's funny you mentioned that! My daughter and I were just talking last night about me buying a few things in each size. I told her I didn't wanna get a lot of any one size... Just a few things cause u never know how long ur gonna be in that size! Hahaha... Good info!

My biggest thing would be head hunger. What it truly is and the tricks you brain will play on you to get you to eat things you should not. It is something you must master and learn how to spot it. The best way I can describe it is to think of your brain as a two year old child. It will do anything to get what it wants. The tantrums will be epic and if you are prepared things will go smoother.
The first time I realized that people who are new to my life don't know what I used to look like. The self doubt of would you have been my friend if I still weighed 256.
Whatever relationship you think you have will food will be challenged. You must be ready to develop a new and healthy relationship with food. Be smart enough to look inside yourself and discover why you are eating that particular. Also to realize you are human and will fall of the wagon a few times. That's ok, but you have to pick yourself up and learn from those times.
Finally this is such an AWSOME journey. You learn so much about yourself. Your dreams really are possible

So as I'm preparing for my journey, I'd like to know what 3 things do you wish someone had told you about the process/surgery? I wanna know all I possibly can. Thanks. Misty

Ok so I have been stalking the boards for a few weeks now. I tend to comment seldom unless it's something that really touches me or if it's something I can learn from.
One thing that's becoming obviously annoying to me.... A lot (not all) of people that use te boards pre-op, go thru surgeries and we never ear from em again! I have followed a lot of stories, and tons of em dead end at tomorrow's my surgery date! Uuuuuugh! Why do people do this!? Very annoying! If you are going to be part of a board pre-op..... Finish ur story post op!!

Well I had my surgery earlier today, I guess it is yesterday now, LOL, I am doing great! This hospital is awesome. My nurses are taking wonderful care of me! I had some nausea and pain right out of surgery when I woke up but I can honestly say as of now, I have NONE! I have not been using the pain pump for awhile, I received Toradol in my IV earlier and it is all I seem to need for pain. I have had zofran for nausea and that has done the trick too. I will get my cath out later this morning and probably get to go home early afternoon. All my labs and vitals are perfect. . Thanks to everyone for helping me to not chicken out.