TXhappyday

Hi @Shainadelphia. I'm 6 days post-op and woke up soaked this morning. I also think it might be hormones... I've also had several days since surgery where my skin was just clammy...

Christine,

Let me add that I had a few friends tell me that I didn't need the surgery - in my mind they were just making small talk, etc... Or they asked me why I was doing it. I always responded that my insurance approved it... and that was all I said... because I just wasn't prepared with a response. My bmi was right at 35 but I had been struggling with the weight for more than 20 years and with my medical history I couldn't see me ever getting back to a healthy weight without the sleeve.

Hi Christine, I just had my surgery this past Monday and I'm still trying to figure out how to tell friends, extended family, coworkers... Most of my close friends know the struggle I've had with my weight and the impact it's had on my life so they've been very supportive when I told them. Even my brothers were supportive which I wasn't sure was going to be the case.

I work from home full-time with occasional travel and really only needed to tell a few people when I scheduled time off work. However, a couple of people I shared the info with decided to share it and when I learned how many people knew what I was doing I felt very exposed... and immediately thought of all of the judgment that was going on... but that was probably my own fear surfacing.

Quite a few of my friends and people in my town have had bariatric surgery so it's not uncommon. I've had some tell me that they've kept it a secret from extended family that live elsewhere... and when asked how they did it they just say that they started eating smaller portions, exercising, etc.. which is all true.

It's no one's business... BUT, I decided to just tell people the truth and then stand strong and try not to let the judgments of others affect me. This was my decision based on various factors and no one knows what my life has been like... if they criticize me for having the surgery then they're just plain ignorant. I've got a couple family members that have been cruel in the past and could be labeled "bullies" so this has been a big part of my emotional journey through the surgery.

I had my surgery this past Monday (11/02)... the pain was pretty rough for me the first 2 days. I had pain meds in the hospital but it was still rough. Since then I've managed it with gas-x and hydrocodone-acetaminophen (Vicadin). I'm not sure how soon you plan to fly home after surgery but I can't imagine sitting on plane for 5 hours anytime soon. But like you said....everyone is different.

I'm scheduled for November 2nd! The countdown has started!

Tell your doctor about the anxiety. He may prescribe a small amount of Xanax to get you through the days leading up to the surgery. Immediately before surgery you'll get some meds in your IV to calm you down before they take you in - this is before they given you anesthesia. I've had a number of surgeries and they always give you a "cocktail" before... it relaxes you a LOT before they take you into the OR.

@@LipstickLady

I didn't ask what was wrong with surgery. I was on a Quest for knowledge to understand what physiologically may be going on that makes weight loss much more difficult (if not impossible) for some people. And the answer did matter... it mattered to me. It was information that I needed to aid in my decision for surgery and how I processed this next step.

I had my meeting with the doc today... and I asked him my question... "Why can't I lose weight without surgery?" Here's what he told me... (I'm summarizing from my notes)

He said that obesity can reach a disease state where a person's internal regulators start to fail. Your body's set point weight re-sets at your higher weight and your body wants to return you to that new (higher) set point despite your attempts to lose weight... the signal from your stomach to your brain will continue to push for you to return to that new set point.

The surgery (bypass or sleeve) helps by interrupting that signal when a big part of the stomach that produces the ghrelin is removed. He explained that it's the one shot you have at resetting that set point. So I asked... if you're set point is now at a higher weight (obese) and you don't have surgery... then you're screwed?

He smiled and said... medical science would indicate yes... His response seemed kind of flippant at the time and I'm not sure if he really believed what he said or not... but it doesn't matter to me. I appreciate knowing what the data and medical literature support.

~~~

I don't know if I'm going to have surgery or not...it's all dependent on my insurance. Right now it appears I don't meet the requirements to be approved... somehow I got taller and lost a few pounds since my last doctor's visit a couple of weeks ago (taller, really?). My BMI is right at 35 and, I don't have any of the qualifying co-morbidities. The doc is still going to submit the paperwork and pursue an approval but I won't know for about 6 weeks. And, what's crazy is that insurance may still require 6 mos of a doctor supervised weight loss program - which is just a straight up denial in my book.

Thanks for such great input... I love the stats letitbeatles9! And pink dahlia.. you crack me up!

I need to say this... if only for myself... but I know I eat too much. I know that I've failed at the diets... because I couldn't stick with them. However, I'm at the place now that I've dealt with a lot of the emotional drivers but my portions are still too big.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts... I greatly appreciate it! I feel better about things after reading your posts. I'm actually starting to feel a twinge of excitement about the surgery mixed in with my other emotions.

Good Evening,

I have my first appointment with the doc this week and as I approach this change I'm really struggling with coming up with why I've failed to lose the weight myself... everyone's situation is unique but I'm beating myself up over all of my failed attempts to lose weight over the past 20+ years. Trying to lose weight has consumed my life... and has been a cycle of hope and failure that finally left me defeated and ashamed.

In my past I struggled with some medical challenges that were unrelated to my weight... however, they likely made all my weight loss attempts much more difficult. Earlier this year I decided to go to a weight loss retreat center that focused on mindful eating, stress management, and developing an exercise routine that I enjoy. I focused on some of the "issues" that drive my emotional overeating but learned that it's a journey of baby steps to see big change. It was a wonderful place and I am so thankful that I went before looking into surgery as an added tool.

So... back to the reason for my post... my biggest struggle is justifying the need for this surgery... I know it's not the easy way out... but I think it's the easier part of the HELL the last 20+ years have been. How do I quiet the bully in my head saying that I should try again to lose the weight without surgery?

Are there true physiological reasons that some of us just can't do it without surgery?

Thanks for reading my post and sharing your experience.