Scone04

I wanted to write about this because I think no one talks about the some of the bad parts of surgery. It’s important before you make a decision in my eyes. I had gastric bypass 8 years ago and lost about 100 pounds. I was NOT ready. We paid out of pocket and I did not have to do much in the way of prep. My choice was purely because I hated my body, was ashamed of who I was, and wanted to change myself completely. My mental health was NOT in a good place. The surgery did not fix that (obviously). At my highest, I gained 70 lbs back. I am going to get the surgery again and I have lost 25 lbs on my own to prep. I would not so it again if I hadn’t done extensive mental health work for the last 5 years and already had it done once. Here is kind of why. First is obviously the mental health issue. It is more than just thinking you’re prepared, it’s a self love thing too. Working through the trauma, the shame, and societies BS that has been forced on you. Owning why you eat as well as understanding a lot of food is made to make us gain weight. The nutrition, the addiction, and building a relationship with your body. It’s hard work, but I know I deserve it now. The big thing is when I make a mistake, I can get back on track. That changes everything. I’m doing this for me this time. Honestly, I would probably not get this surgery again if I hadn’t already done so. I wish I’d gotten the band or sleeve. The gastric bypass has caused some health issues for me and a lot of pain. For a while I had abrupt sharp stomach pain that sent me to the hospital a couple times. Never found out what it was, and it stopped a few years in. Gallbladder became diseased and I had surgery for that. It was painful but a risk that often happens. One thing I wasn’t ready for was how much my body became different. I became sensitive to a lot of foods and developed some allergies which may or may not be because of the surgery. I also had constant stomach pain until about two years ago. This was largely based on my return to poor eating habits but some of it seemed to be in a change in my gut balance and developing food aversions/allergies. I cannot eat certain things (not always due to being “unhealthy”). I had some stomach issues prior so that could have contributed. One thing that may be weird that went with this constant pain, and did cause me a lot of regret as I started becoming in tune with my body, was the actual surgery and internal changes themselves. I sometimes struggled with this thought that I mutilated my body. I would think about the staples in my body and changes that were made and when paired with the pain I always felt I would feel a great deal of anxiety. Now, this has subsided greatly as I learned my food aversions and ate less unhealthy foods. However, I do have some trepidation as I go forward with the re-do that the pain was not just because of my eating but creating imbalance in my body. Overall, if you are ready I don’t think the surgery is a bad choice at all. I am not trying to scare anyone, or be negative. These are the thoughts I went through before deciding to go forward with it again. Overall, if you are ready I don’t think there is much to regret. Most of what I’m talking about is not being ready and being stuck deep in my food addiction. Furthermore, I have had a severe food addiction that I think might surpass some surgery recipients. If you are ready there will likely be few, if any, regrets. Things like not enjoying a huge meal, not eating what you used to, and changes in meals I think can be real regrets for some but not huge.