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I,m Angie and I'll be having my bypass surgery in may or june. I started this journey in October. It's getting closer and Im getting more and more nervous. Ive never had surgery and I have failed at every diet there is. Im scared about going through such a major surgery and failing again. Any advice?

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Yeah, it IS a big deal, definitely. I was very scared too. Petrified. The closer I got to surgery day- the more scared I was.

In my case, although I was scared, I kept going through the process of getting my surgery, kept reading up on the surgery, kept reading about post-op issues (good and bad) and generally tried to educate myself as much as possible. While I was doing all this, I was also keeping in mind that until I was on the table I could still back out.

I went through with it because my quality of life and health as a morbidly obese person were quickly diminishing. I have a very strong family history of heart disease and at 38 I was diabetic (II), had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, arthritis, zero energy and was clearly headed for a heart attack in another year or two. My father had his first of 6 open heart surgeries at age 40 and died at age 59. The gastric bypass seemed much better to me than my Dad's 6 heart bypass surgeries and 19 years of dying.

Ultimately, no one (but your doctors) can really give you good advice on whether or not to do it.

Personally, i'm glad that I did it and I've never regretted it. I'd do it again in an instant. Oh and BTW... My insurance didn't cover mine. I paid out of pocket and I am NOT a wealthy person. I really felt that, in my case, it was, "if you want to live and be 'ok'- this may be your only shot. If you don't do this, you'll keep the weight, the illnesses will get worse and you can die like dad did."

I could still die like my dad did. Genetics don't always play fair, but my quality of life is soooo much better than it was 15 months ago. It's like night and day.

Best of luck to you. Do what's best for you- whatever that may be. Be strong!

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Yes, like adot said you have to do whats best for you. Im still week one post op so its hard for me to say much about how things will be but i do know this has been a very difficult week being on Clear Liquids, having pain, not being able to eat. I've cried every night this week but i dont regret getting the surgery. Its just something i need to overcome! Hopefully i will start seeing the results and once i get to the pureed foid stage, it might get better!

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
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    • KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
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    • bellaamey

      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
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