Maybe I Shouldn't Do This

[NHJulie 13]

SO, I have my first info session next Friday and I'm now doubting this whole thing. Maybe I don't need to do this. Maybe I will succeed with another diet and exercise. I just don't know. I know I want to succeed but all these doubts keep flooding my head and I can't sleep! I haven't even begun the process and can't sleep lol! What will I be like when and if things progress? I've bought some sample Protein Drinks and some other things that people have mention on here but I just don't want to make a mistake. Advice? Anyone? Did anyone feel like this? Also, my father died at 47, not from weight related issues. I'm 44 and want to live alot longer!

[shangefan 193]

I say take it one step at a time. Go to the information session and see how you feel afterward.

[Jsmart2 2]

I think it would be odd if you didn't feel this way. Up to the morning of my procedure (July 2nd) I doubted my decision, but in the end I'm so happy I choose to go ahead. It is still fresh and I'm still dealing with the immediate after effects but I'm excited now not doubting.

You will have to make the decision that is right for you though. If you feel you can maintain another diet and exercise without the surgery then by all means do it. For me I finally realized I could drop the weight and put it back on 20-30 more times in my life and I wanted it off permanently and felt the sleeve gave the best chance at success.

Others will have better replies and stories but keep talking out you feelings and fears here, with your doctors and loved ones and you'll make the best decision for you!

[MKambalimath 92]

I agree, you need to get all the info you can first. I can tell you that I was originally scheduled for surgery on Jan 24 2012, but I got so scared, and so convinced that since I was losing weight on the pre-op diet, that I could do it myself. I canceled my surgery 3 days before. Then I gained 6 of the 10lbs I had lost back. I had my surgery on April 25th and have lost 35lbs. Even though I am disappointed in my weight loss at this point, I know that if I had NOT had the surgery, I would have just kept gaining. That being said, its a decision that only you can make. I'm learning that it really is a lifestyle change. Good luck on your journey

[traceyinflorida 499]

I went to my first info session two years before I finally had the surgery!! While there, I was so ready to do it. But later on, when I had time to really think on it, I started to think, well if I have to make that big of changes in my eating, why not just try it on my own. I ended up gaining more weight!! When I finally decided to go for it, I was so dissapointed that my insurance required 6 months of diet and exercise counseling before being considered. IF I had it to do over, I would have started the process two years ago and gone through with the surgery then.

Take it one step at a time. Go to the info session and see what you think. Investigate your insurance coverage, see what you think. If you have a period of supervised nutrition counseling to go through, do it and see how it goes. At any point you can decide not to do it, but at least get the ball rolling. So far, I haven't met anyone who has regretted doing this....

[Willow216 91]

I also had my doubts, we all do, its losing a part of us we had and come to depend on all our lives, eating, its there when we're sad, happy, depressed, celebrating and bored. It was our "Friend" and he was always there.

I always lost weight with dieting but the minute I felt comforatable I started eating again and would gain more than I had lost. Since I have had this surgery it has not been a "Chore" to lose weight and all the "not so good for you foods" I thought I couldn't live without I don't even want anymore, its VERY Free-ing. Take your time and consult with as many professionals as you can. My father also died of obesity at 55 yrs old he was 5'4" and 450lbs. That was my deciding vote that I had to tell myself to find a "new friend" to hang with. LOL

Best Wishes to you!

[Marty McSkinnystein 342]

I cancelled 3 years ago but it was for RNY and now I have the procedure I want and the Dr. I want.

The thing I found played tricks on me was the back and forth looking for signs.

My thought process: Is the quality of life I have worth having or are there things I may never do that I keep blaming on weight. Have I ever done it successfully and when I did was I happy? Did I gain it back? Am I the best me? ARe people who do this happy? Do the things that could happen based on weight outweigh the things that could happen with surgery (assuming complete compliance with Doc's orders)? And that makes my decision FINALLY kind of easy. Not the things I might go through...but the decision to do it.

[kwindham 57]

I was terrified. What if this is a mistake, what if I dont wake up, etc? But I was determined to have a healthier life, the one I was living was misery. I couldn't dig my own holes to plant my flowers without losing my breath. I remember pasting a huge smile on my face when they where wheeling me from preop to surgery and telling my parents as they wheeled me out "see you on the losers bench" but I was scared half to death.

Being scared or doubtful is human nature, its a defense mechanism. But ultimately only you can make this decision. Weigh the pros and cons. Do you want to struggle with your weight the rest of your life or do you want to permantly lose it? Deep inside is where your answers will come from. Good Luck!

[IMSKINNY 160]

I wasn't really scared of it all. I just thought I can lose on my own! After all, I had done it before, right?! I have lost 70 + lbs on my own. But, it all came back and then some. Finally, at 45 with menopause knocking at my door, the weight will not move. I finally have realized that I need help! I'm excited now!

Do what we all did! Take the first step and go to the info session. Once I educated myself on the process, I felt so much more confident about my decision. I started this process in February. I was just approved for surgery on July 3.

[Chimera 644]

After trying every diet and exercise program under the sun over the past 20+ years - then attending the WL seminar with my family after my sister-in-law had gastric bypass, lost all of her weight with no complications - where my surgeon began by laying out the statistics that lasting weight loss when you are super morbidly obese through diet and exercise is something like less than one percent.

That if my bmi was over 40 (it was 56) I had a greater chance of dying much sooner than if I layed on the operating table for bariatric surgery....

I had a year of research and prep. Yes is is scary and hard, but it is a permanent solution to a problem my family could not beat on our own. It was worth every bit of fear, pain, and doubt and every day gets better

[IsB 209]

Getting information never hurt anyone. Go to the information session and then see if it's right for you

[tonibugg 64]

I had these same thoughts, I think we all have if we're honest! I honestly told the nurse while laying on the pre op table that I didn't want to do the surgery anymore lol I was laying there crying and freaking out.. she gave me something to "relax" me and off I went! I can tell you now, 6 days after surgery, that I have dropped 12 lbs of true weight (not IV Fluid, swelling etc) and I am soooo happy I did this! I look at the scale everyday and say " I will never weigh this amount again" WOW! So empowering! This decision is not right for everyone but if it is your right decision, don't wait! do it and LIVE the rest of your life with gusto! My 1 year surgiversary reward will be skydiving! I can't wait!!! I'm 41 and ready to live again, the fat suit has got to come off =) Good luck with your journey and hope to see you on the losers side!!

[ProudGrammy 8,322]

Maybe I don't need to do this. Maybe I will succeed with another diet and exercise.

NHJulie

hi there - think within yourself, be sure if you really want this surgery, its a very important decision

ask yourself the following question

Can i lose my weight on my own, without regaining the weight

Be Succesful Staying on Maintenance?

if the answer to the above is yes, i won't regain the weight - then no surgery is necessary

if the answer to the above is no, I will probably regain the weight then surgery is a very good option

good luck on your decision

kathy

Edited July 6, 2012 by likasulema

[Pookeyism 1,143]

Go to the meeting, start your planning, and start dieting...if you find you do need the surgery, you are on your way, if not, it was worth the gamble - you should be going to the doctor if you are on a diet, anyway.

I started a diet in January '11 "the final one!!!"....abotu 7 months later I had lost a bit of weigh, but not much, and a little bit more and a few months later I was diagnosed with at tumor in my tummy - so my decision was helped somewhat - but I had already begun to realize I needed help.

This isn't the crazy-big step so many people attribute to it - you would have to do everything we are doing. and do it for the rest of your life in order to keep the weight off - with the exception we have a couple of years where there is a strong change in our anatomy and we have to adjust - but change after awhile becomes normal, if you work at it - NOT effortless, normal - the effort is normal, the trials and tribulations - normal...the healthy day to day feeling, taking our lives back...normal!

Good luck in your decision - I wont try to talk you into it our out - but I would be glad to talk to you if you need it.

[KS Fort Worth 86]

By all means, get all the information you can, and make the decision that's best for you. I'm scheduled for July 24th and have lost about 35 pounds since February. This is my third *major* weight-loss episode, and I had begun to wonder a few weeks ago whether I COULD in fact do it by myself this time. What I was reminded of by responses to my similar-to-yours question in this forum was the stress that life tosses our way. The last two times I lost a lot of weight, it was coping with external stress that undid all my hard work. I believe that the sleeve will be the tool *I* need to succeed.