I am not sure if this is really what I want to do. When I read on here about what people can and cannot eat, the foamies, pain etc...I think "what the heck am I doing?" Why can't I do it the "right way"?

It seems like the only people on here are the people thinking about having the surgery, people waiting to have the surgery, or people that are rockin' or at least workin' their sleeve. Where are all of the other people? What about the ones that weren't able to lose much? The ones that are nutritionally deprived now? The ones that absolutely hate the sleeve?

I think deep down, I don't want to give up my love affair with food. I love shopping for it, cooking it, and eating it. I will definitely need to channel all of that somewhere else.....

Just rumbling and ranting and looking for reassurances.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I was having "buyers remorse" there for a while.

Tiff, as usual, you are spot-on in your comments. I am not spiritual in nature, but read a post over on OH today that snapped me back into reality.

I don't have to give up food. I can channel my love of cooking into finding ways to make healthy fare for my family (not that I don't now, I am a volume eater and a snacker).

I will admit though, I am still going to miss my glass of vino while cooking (that is my muse)!

Thanks again for the support everyone!

Hey hun. Have you seen the blog 'the world according to eggface'?? She had bypass I think, but she loves preparing foods and her blog is all these healthy and creative dishes she makes, what she eats, how she packs her lunch etc and I find it so helpful. (She has other things too.)

Looking at that might make you see ways you can channel your love of food and cooking after surgery. Also, maybe you would enjoy creating your OWN blog like this! A place to share food, recipes, photos and that would give you another way to channel your creative energy. I hope this helps.

Hey everyone!!! Plz i am in desperate need any advice or thoughts you can give me!! I never had any doubts that I wanted to do this in the whole time of going through the hoops for insurance for about half a year... but now with less than a week to go (surgery scheduled for 5/20) I am scared to death!!! is this cold feet feeling normal????

And also let me explain my biggest fear is not the pain or going w/o food, but the fact that my stomach will be changed (and most of it gone!!) forever!!! I mean we only get one stomach!! The permanent aspect is what drew me to VSG but now being so close its what scaring the poo out of me!! I mean what do people do if they get ulcers, or cancer after this surgery. IDK if there is any reasarch on that. I have been glued to this computer since i got home trying to make these fears go away.

Did anybody else react this way??

Why am i now only feeling this scared right before the big day??? i dont even know if i could call this off or not, everything is set to go!!

I feel ridiculous for even admitting this but i hope i am not alone!!:lol0:

I'm just curious, my question is for Jane_J what is a GA?:lol0:

I am scheduled for the 17th so we are close, i am also scared to death! However, im scared about other things. I have thought long and hard about not being able to eat normally ever again. But i have let food become MY LIFE. It has ruined my body, make me hate myself, hide from people and public places, not enjoy the things in life I should, basically, those 5 minutes i really enjoy eating each time i stuff myself, ruin the rest of my day and night. I am willing to give up my stomach for this. To me, this means either- keep the stomach and stay fat and miserable, or have the surgery, go through some pain and withdrawals, learn new ways of living, and have a new body and a new life that i've been only dreaming about forever. I'll take the new life. No one says we CANT eat. We just can't eat much. A few bites taste just as good as 100 bites. We just have to learn to savor each individual bite, instead of forcing into our mouths as fast as we can (at least thats what i have been doing). We are all different, but im willing to sacrifice this to make changes in my life.

That's right, having a big stomach hasn't done me much good. In fact it has done much harm. So I am opting for a smaller stomach. There will be some changes in what I eat, and I will lose weight. It will help my health, hopefully my weight bearing joints will quit hurting so that I can do more. I'm looking forward to feeling better. It's all up to me how well this all works out. I hope my surgery goes well. It should, I have a great surgeon and a great hospital. No real big health issues for why it wouldn't.

Surgery is Monday around 1pm or so depending on if he stays on schedule or not.

I'm just curious, my question is for Jane_J what is a GA?:biggrin2:

General Anaesthetic, sorry couldn't try to spell it at that moment in my working day, well I should have been working!:thumbup1:

I am scheduled for the 17th so we are close, i am also scared to death! However, im scared about other things. I have thought long and hard about not being able to eat normally ever again. But i have let food become MY LIFE. It has ruined my body, make me hate myself, hide from people and public places, not enjoy the things in life I should, basically, those 5 minutes i really enjoy eating each time i stuff myself, ruin the rest of my day and night. I am willing to give up my stomach for this. To me, this means either- keep the stomach and stay fat and miserable, or have the surgery, go through some pain and withdrawals, learn new ways of living, and have a new body and a new life that i've been only dreaming about forever. I'll take the new life. No one says we CANT eat. We just can't eat much. A few bites taste just as good as 100 bites. We just have to learn to savor each individual bite, instead of forcing into our mouths as fast as we can (at least thats what i have been doing). We are all different, but im willing to sacrifice this to make changes in my life.

I LOVE this post. I think everything you said is exactly spot on! I can't wait to hear how your surgery goes

Where are all of the other people? What about the ones that weren't able to lose much? The ones that are nutritionally deprived now? The ones that absolutely hate the sleeve?

/QUOTE]

I was wondering the same thing, but I gotta be honest with you....I think you can't find those people because they do not exist. Even the few posts where people say they have regained some weight after a few years admit they have NOT been working their program correctly, they know they need to get off the carbs and or couch and know if they do those things the sleeve works.

Best advice I have seen to date regarding the sleeve is that it is NOT a magic weight loss fix it is a TOOL and it is up to each of us to learn to use that tool correctly.

Have never seen anyone who says they are nutritionally deprived, instead they are all thrilled that once in maintenance phase they can eat the foods they enjoy, just MUCH less of it and they are HAPPY.

It's likely that you'll regain a little weight after you hit your target. This is sort of a natural physiological thing with age. You can fight it by watching what you eat and exercising more.

In some ways, this is no different from the old diet and exercise routine; the big difference is that with the sleeve, it is much, much easier to be "good." You just can't shovel food in like you used to. If you try that, you'll be in a world of pain, and probably puke.

Also, you don't get really hungry, despite not eating much. Admittedly I'm in the "honeymoon" phase (11 days post-op) but I can tell you that despite eating less than one-third or less of the calories I used to eat, I have not once, since surgery, been hungry. Period. This makes it much, much easier to do the right thing and eat only healthy stuff.

Let's face it, that's the problem with diets, right? We can all lose weight through a massive effort, but keeping it off is so hard because if you're like me, you're hungry all the time! But after VSG, you're almost never really "hungry" -- in fact most sleevers apparently have to re-learn how to be "hungry." For my girlfriend, it's a sort of run-down feeling that lets her know she needs to "fuel the machine." For me, it's kinda getting sleepy. Either way, it's NOT the old constant stomach-growling starving wolf feeling!

So no, the VSG isn't a magic bullet. What it DOES do is let you lose lots and lots of weight fast, and (most important) give you a tool that makes it much easier to KEEP it off!

So Texaschick, are you going on that long long long diet, or are you going to sleeve it?

I am still hoping to "sleeve it". Just waiting to hear from my dr's office and hoping I can get in in Early-mid June. Timing-wise that is what is going to work best for me.

Hey everyone!!! Plz i am in desperate need any advice or thoughts you can give me!! I never had any doubts that I wanted to do this in the whole time of going through the hoops for insurance for about half a year... but now with less than a week to go (surgery scheduled for 5/20) I am scared to death!!! is this cold feet feeling normal????

And also let me explain my biggest fear is not the pain or going w/o food, but the fact that my stomach will be changed (and most of it gone!!) forever!!! I mean we only get one stomach!! The permanent aspect is what drew me to VSG but now being so close its what scaring the poo out of me!! I mean what do people do if they get ulcers, or cancer after this surgery. IDK if there is any reasarch on that. I have been glued to this computer since i got home trying to make these fears go away.

Did anybody else react this way??

Why am i now only feeling this scared right before the big day??? i dont even know if i could call this off or not, everything is set to go!!

I feel ridiculous for even admitting this but i hope i am not alone!!:thumbup1:

Definitely cold feet, and no you aren't crazy, and don't feel ridiculous about having these thoughts and concerns.

I was a little freaked out about losing my stomach, but I kept thinking, what has that huge thing done for me lately?

The one thing I did was research gastrectomies for cancer and ulcer patients. Did you know that there are a lot of people that live fairly normal lives without a stomach at all. They had to have their entire stomach removed, and then a new tummy made out of intestinal tissue. These patients had to take additional digestive enzymes or a supplement, but they were able to eat smaller amounts of most foods. I know that may not help, but I found it comforting to know that others had more drastic surgeries and were living fairly normal lives. And, they survived cancer ! ! !

Just breathe, and hang in there. I know it can be daunting, but it is also very rewarding. We're all here for you, and let us know if we can help in any possible way.

I had my surgery Feb 8th and had many of the same thoughts and doubts as so many do before surgery... what am I doing to my "perfectly good" stomach? what if it doesn't work? what if I have a complication? But my mom gave me great advice. She said think of yourself having surgery, how do you feel? (I felt hopeful, excited, scared, ready for the future) and then think of yourself not having the surgery , how do you feel? ( I felt hopeless, depressed, stuck) that for me was a turning point. I knew I was ready, I had tried everything else. I am so happy I did! I have difficult moments, but I am losing, have had no real problems and see a new life ahead with a healthy body!

Good Luck

Diane

Came home today from my sleeve surgery. Everything went well. What hurt the most was shoulder pain. That was terrible but is already gone, so only lasted 24 hr for me. Still on clear liquids for today, start full liquids tomorrow. Thanks for all your help everyone. I felt so much more prepared after reading all your posts.

At the hospital I did use a light weight robe (knee length), nonslip socks, tooth brush, tooth paste, body lotion, body wash. deodorant. Brought my knitting but didn't really do much. The pain meds made me kind of loopy, family were lovingly making fun at that. Didn't get much sleep, so came home and slept 3 yrs. Everyone was wonderful, and very knowledgeable. So far so good.

Will post more later.

So glad you are doing so well Kalew, you will be amazed at how quickly you feel better. Best of luck!