Mattymatt

I'd like to thank everyone for their responses. It really helped put things in perspective for me and chase those second thoughts away. @Creekimp13, you're correct, the research does not lie. It really points out that when surgery is used as a tool, the chances for long term success are an order of magnitude better. @FluffyChix That is a fantastic idea! I am going to look into an occupational therapy program. @blizair09 I am a champion of the yo-yo diet. I lost over a 100 pounds two times only to regain. Your words struck a note with me. Surgery it is going to be! When looking at it soberly, this is the best option for the rest of my life.

If there is magic pixie dust, then please share, don't hog it all! :-D

Before y'all groan and say, "Not another second thoughts posting!" hear me out a second. I am having second thoughts about going to surgery because my problem is not that I am unable to lose weight; it is that once I lose weight I have troubles in maintenance. I finally understand this but the problems are significant. I don't tell many people this but I am disabled - I have high functioning autism. While my "autieness" does not really show itself in social situations, I have trouble with some basic chores like cooking. I tend to over or undercook meals, have difficulty following recipes, and measuring ingredients properly. Skills like these are known as executive functioning and I have struggled with this all of my life. I have had success in losing weight on meal replacements because of the ease of making it happen. Instead of the frustrating (and ultimately wasted) experience of cooking, I could channel my energies towards getting the weight off. Instead of the profound frustration with meal preparation, I have it planned out for me and I can pretty much coast through to some degree. I was inspired to post this because I am on my second day of Optifast and loving every bit of its ease of use, so to speak. So part of me is wondering, when the root of the problem is executive functioning, why I should even undergo surgery to begin with? If I am able to follow a strict diet (which I can), wouldn't it make more sense for me to see Optifast through to goal weight and while working with a therapist and maybe finding some cooking classes? I think the executive functioning challenges might be much worse in maintenance with the severe changes in metabolism.

You've kind of hit on something that seems to be a part of a lot of people who are overweight and I include myself. We make excuses and sometimes live in some forms of denial or mired in our own behaviors. My own situation is fairly complicated but each time I want to complain about not losing weight or whatever, I can ultimately trace the root of the problem to personal denial or crazy behavior. I am so awoke to this that I no longer whine when I don't lose weight - I don't lie to myself anymore ... the reason is that I fell off of the wagon and stopped tracking.

Yeah, you really cannot agonize over the scale. I don't own a scale now so I'll have to buy one. But I probably won't weigh every week. Honestly, the scale doesn't give you accountability. If you want accountability, use an an app like LoseIt to track your food and exercise. If you're honest with your food and exercise, the results should eventually show.

Well, you've caught yourself before the fall. Yes, see a therapist. Meanwhile go back to the basics of the program ... protein first, drink liquids 30 minutes after eating, and track-track-track!

You're under good care and your medical team will get to the bottom of this. In the mean time, it is important for you to stay as positive as possible.

First day down and it is really not so bad. I guess that the hunger pangs are vastly better than dealing with the side effects of Victoza and insulin. At least I don't feel nauseous which is a HUGE relief. Hunger pangs are really welcome when compared to having to put up with Victoza. Dare I say I got this!?

It sounds far more ghastly than it is - at first I did not like the idea of my insides being rerouted. The kicker for me was having both GERD and Type 2 Diabetes. The sleeve does not seem to have as profound an effect on diabetes as RNY does. They say RNY either cures T2 or sends it into remission. I absolutely hate having to take 3 medicines to control blood sugar. At least I've been pulled off of 2 of them now that I am on Day 1 of the OptiFast pre-op diet. I am just relieved to be off of Victoza. I got the rare side effect of worsening depression while on Victoza. Just not taking it today makes me feel better already. I'd get like ready to cry at a moment's notice - some real ugly stuff.

I am no expert but my surgeon says that GERD makes sleeve almost a no go. Why are you trying to avoid a bypass? It's the gold standard. Research shows that bypass patients have the best outcome.

As @FluffyChix mentioned, you really want to consider RNY if you have GERD because sometimes GERD is exacerbated by just the sleeve alone. I am sure you don't want to go through a revision surgery.

I just want to get through this first week of OptiFast! Hell, I am not even looking that far ahead right now. I am just looking hour to hour.

At some point you have to say f**k these people! I don't really care about people's responses and if they ask, I am going to tell them the truth because I am not ashamed to admit that I am one of the 90% for whom diet and exercise alone did not work. It's also a great way to screen people. If they're going to judge you based on that, you don't want them in your life .... period.

Stalls are normal. I am surprised that no one in your program has discussed this with you. It's common to have a 3rd week stall or so I am told. I am still pre-op until March 12th.

It's not really that much of a pickle at all - it's easily solved. Sometimes you just have to go through the motions. Just nod your head and say "Yes, I'll do that." Then do your own thing. You might have to create some fake food records to show the dietitian that you "followed" her advice and still did not lose weight. Yes, it is kind of lying but the issue is not so black and white because you've probably lost weight before but have struggled in maintenance. The whole point of the surgery is that you don't only lose weight, but you have greater chances for success in the maintenance phase. Just tell them what they want to hear. It really goes back to the utter stupidity of insurance forcing you to do something - again - that has not worked in the past.

You were very smart about finding someone local for aftercare!

I know that it does. I did a diet like this years ago, and if memory serves me correctly, the first 4 days were the worst. I remember waking up on the 5th day not hungry at all. Things may be different now because I am a diabetic but I hope that the sensations will more or less be the same. I know that my endocrinologist pulled me off of insulin and Victoza. Victoza was making me feel so bad anyhow that I think hunger sensations will be a welcome reprieve from the constant low grade nausea.

Day one of the 2 week pre-op OptiFast diet is off to a bang start. Since my BMI is between 40 and 44, I get to have 4 shakes, 1 soup, and 1 bar for the next 11 days. Then the final 3 days 1 shake gets added and no bars. I woke up already not feeling that great so it remains to be seen how the rest of the day will go. I decided to also reinstall LoseIt on my phone. There is no time like the present to get back to tracking.

You're doing great. Keep up the hard work. Work through the stall and you'll eventually beat it.

Careful on the gatorade!!! Maybe replace it with MIO electrolytes. No sugar is probably better. Gatorade has a butt ton of sugar.

Meh, it's a long time ago. I think the best moment was when the surgeon sternly lectured me about having pain and not reporting it. I looked at him, laughed, and said, "That's the problem, doc, I wasn't having any pain at all." To which he frowned and walked off. Terrible bedside manner but phenomenal surgeon.

@FluffyChix Time for a "damn batman" moment! :-) You're only 4 days outta surgery and you've set some awfully high expectations. You're doing great. When I go to get my insides re-routed on March 12th, I am going in with the absolute worst expectations - to lose a pound a week if that. That way I'll be pleasantly surprised. Also, I am not gonna be married to the fooking scale. I'll weigh myself when I feel like it. From my previous (short term) successful weight loss attempts, I learned that as long as I am honest with myself, track everything, and follow the prescription diet to a T, I don't need a scale to show me that I am losing weight. I am more than a number.

I am sorry to hear and that's unpleasant but anything can happen with this type of surgery. It is serious elective surgery and that is why you have to jump through so many hoops just to get to the operating room. It was a good thing that you did not delay in reporting this pain. When I lost weight the first time, through diet and exercise, my gall bladder nearly killed me. I had no pain or discomfort whatsoever. All of a sudden one day I was just getting progressively sicker and sicker. I thought I was coming down with the flu until one of my college roommates found me semi-conscious and I was rushed to the hospital. I had emergency surgery to remove my gall bladder. I remember the ultrasound tech yanked the emergency cord on the side of the wall when she saw the size of the gall bladder. Scary stuff. This was back in February of 2002. Surgeon told me I am lucky to be alive because if this had happened when I was at my heaviest weight, he might not have been able to get to the gall bladder in time to safely remove it. I was in the hospital of 2 weeks because my gall bladder had become infected and there was concern of an infection spread.

It's a common misconception that gastric bypass is more invasive. It actually isn't. The surgeon uses the same laprascopic procedure with small incisions. I would just go with your surgeon's recommendation since your sleeve did not work optimally the first time.

That's a lot of weight to lose in your first 10 days! Sounds like things are off to a really good start. Nah, you don't really want that cheesesteak, you just think you do. It's also good that you're working to establish a routine. That will be helpful later on.