16 days Post-Op, Sad & full of regret

[belunos 93]

I won't repeat what everyone else has said, but I think its important to keep something in mind.. In a year you won't be as restricted. In other words, you'll be eating like skinny people eat, and they seem pretty happy

[Kindle 8,667]

WombatVSG said... "The other thing I wonder about, though I haven't read any research... So my stomach isn't producing the hormone ghrelin any more. Does that mess with my other hormones in some way? Because I won't lie, I've got some crazy-making hormones. "

The hormone thing was one of my biggest concerns, too, because our endocrine system is so intertwined. Unfortunately my research only uncovered that they know ghrelin is more than just the "hunger hormone", but they aren't really sure what all else it does. (Some links to memory and even Alzheimer's). So I'm sure there's some unknown effects from losing the major source of production.

And along those lines, estrogen is stored in fat cells, so as we lose weight, that estrogen is released, turning us into major hormonal whack jobs. A lot of people's menstural cycles get screwed up not to mention the emotional aspects. Hang in there. I'm only 7 1/2 weeks out but I have faith in all the advise from the veterans out there.

[dlar57 29]

I will be 3 months in March, I eat 4oz a meal , Protein Bars 2 day I drink 74oz of green diet tea , I have no problems with anything, takes time, you do fine , just follow your Docter!

[revderricott1 1]

You are so newly post op, it's hard to see how bright your future is now. I remember those early days/weeks, and i thought maybe something was wrong with me because I just felt so generally awful. Super fatigued, the weight wasn't coming off like I thought it should (I was ridiculous - it was coming off great) and just uncertainty that all would be OK. I would read threads on here about people who felt great 2 days out, blah blah blah. Results "not typical". It was hard not be short-sighted, but the truth is that if you work on making the changes you need to, you will transform your mind and body.

Now, at over a year out, I am so incredibly normal! I can eat anything and everything. I can drink Water to my hearts content. I can eat small but normal portions and feel fine. I look normal. I was wear normal size clothes. I'm normal, normal, normal. That's all I ever wanted to be. I also had/have a great life, so losing the weight, managing my diet, and moving into a healthy life just completed it for me.

Your posting was SOOOO helpful to me! It was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you! Thank you! I was sleeved on New Year's Eve and everyday has been a struggle. Everything you mentioned in your posting applied to my situation in some way. Your posting was an answer to my prayers. So now, I just need to breathe...

[andreamy7 55]

When you start seeing the results you will feel that it is worth it. I had some post op regrets but I have moved past that due to the results I am seeing and I am getting better about being able to have a glass of wine with dinner. I went through a tough time when I realized my relationship with food had to completely change. It will pass...judt give yourself the chance to enjoy what you can. The diet does get better and is less restrictive later on. Hang in there!!

[Noor1969 150]

I am so glad you posted these concerns and I'm really loving the responses. I'm supposed to get sleeved on the 18th and I'm worried about the same issues you are. I am really going to miss having food to turn to when I'm feeling bad. I'm going to miss being able to guzzle a bottle of Water. I warned my husband today to be patient with me as I'll be going through a lot of tough changes. I'm glad to read that all of these feelings are going to be temporary, and, God willing, I'll have no remorse at all about having the surgery.

My surgeon does offer a monthly support group and of course there are the great people here. I will keep coming back.

[feelingdown/but determined 3]

I too feel your pain and frustration, you really took the words out of my mouth today was a really bad day for me and all I could do was just cry. I know that this will help me in the long run. My food use to be my support system when I was feeling down now the very thing I love I can't have and I miss it , having a very hard time dealing with this I can't seem to find anything to satisfy me all I can think about is how thirst I am and want to eat something but If I do I will be in so much pain. Very depressed but still optimistic.

I had the sleeve performed on 1/20. I was on Protein shakes and clear fluids for two weeks pre op and 2 weeks post op. It's now been three days that I've been able to have purée foods like mashed potatoes, apple sauce yogurt and Soups.

After being on the clear Fluid diet for so long I thought I would be happy to move on. I have felt regret since the moment I woke up from surgery , and despite my hope it would get better when I could eat more it's actually gotten much worse.

I miss so much about life before this surgery. I don't know how I will adjust. I miss taking big gulps of cold Water. I sip and sip and sip, but I am always thirsty. I miss the joy of eating with friends and family and eating good foods. I miss being able to drink while I'm eating and I hate having to wait half an hour before and after eating to drink. Will it always take me half an hour to drink a cup of Water? Will the rest of my life be spent feeling thirsty, hungry, counting minutes till I can drink water or constantly tracking my Protein? I chose the sleeve over the bypass so that I would still be able to have a semi-normal life. There's no point regretting something that cannot be undone, but I do.

[WombatVSG 56]

I was sleeved on Dec 30th... we're almost sleeve buddies!

Your posting was SOOOO helpful to me! It was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you! Thank you! I was sleeved on New Year's Eve and everyday has been a struggle. Everything you mentioned in your posting applied to my situation in some way. Your posting was an answer to my prayers. So now, I just need to breathe...

[Escape_Pod 358]

I don't know why more bariatric programs don't warn their patients about the likelihood of the emotional roller coaster in the first few weeks post-op. You need to know, your family needs to know. It's totally normal.

As someone else mentioned above, a lot of hormones are stored in fat, so the rapid initial weight loss releases a lot of that back into your blood stream, so most of us are pretty emotional. Add that to lingering effects of anesthesia (which can take weeks to be completely out of your system), some post-op pain, inadequate sleep, and the fact that you just turned your life upside down, you're out of your normal routine, you're having to establish completely new habits for eating, drinking, and Vitamins (did anyone else literally need a chart to keep track of it all?), and the fact that you just eliminated what, for most of us, was our primary life coping mechanism (food), and .... well. .. is it any wonder we're a bit miserable for awhile? I woke up one night in my first week, had a bad case of the teeth-chattering shivers, and ended up full-out sobbing for no apparent reason. My poor hubby!
At least I'd encountered a few threads about the post-op emotional thing, so I sort of recognized what was going on.

As so many have posted, it gets SO much better. Yes, some of the changes are long-term, but most of them you'll adjust to quickly. Chin up girl, you're going through the worst part now.

[LoveNKindness 25]

I don't know why more bariatric programs don't warn their patients about the likelihood of the emotional roller coaster in the first few weeks post-op. You need to know, your family needs to know. It's totally normal. As someone else mentioned above, a lot of hormones are stored in fat, so the rapid initial weight loss releases a lot of that back into your blood stream, so most of us are pretty emotional. Add that to lingering effects of anesthesia (which can take weeks to be completely out of your system), some post-op pain, inadequate sleep, and the fact that you just turned your life upside down, you're out of your normal routine, you're having to establish completely new habits for eating, drinking, and Vitamins (did anyone else literally need a chart to keep track of it all?), and the fact that you just eliminated what, for most of us, was our primary life coping mechanism (food), and .... well. .. is it any wonder we're a bit miserable for awhile? I woke up one night in my first week, had a bad case of the teeth-chattering shivers, and ended up full-out sobbing for no apparent reason. My poor hubby! At least I'd encountered a few threads about the post-op emotional thing, so I sort of recognized what was going on. As so many have posted, it gets SO much better. Yes, some of the changes are long-term, but most of them you'll adjust to quickly. Chin up girl, you're going through the worst part now.

<3

[Carlotta1 401]

I loved to gulp Water pre op. Now that I am two months post op.. I can chug a little. It will get better I assure u. Be patient with the process. U may be tired and that is why u r feeling that way. Mentally Get rest. When I get tired. Ohh. It Is not good for me.., My mind is also effected ..

[SlowlybutSurely 73]

LnK, I hate to say that I LOL when I read your post but I did, I had surgery on 01/10 and I posted a similar post here about 2 weeks ago. I literally was "mourning food" and the comfort that it bought me even though I was primarily a drinker (sodas). I too thought it sucked to not be able to drink when I eat and I still find myself pouring a cup of juice with my meal but I'm learning to set it aside. I'm pretty much use to it now though and it hasn't even been a month. I'm not mourning food anymore and am actually getting use to this new lifestyle that I think will definitely bring me a scintilla of joy in the future. It helps to remind yourself of WHY you choose the surgery and how you felt before. I had to also make myself keep looking on the bright side (especially since I was self-pay) and eventually I just bought into it. I have no regrets now and just hope I can keep losing. Good luck on your journey and just know that with probably 80% of us, it's really hard at first.

[McButterpants 2,846]

Hi there.

It will get better - It just takes time. I agree with a couple of the other responders - you may want to find some help, someone you can talk to.

I'm 12 weeks out now and my life is back to normal. I can take bigger drinks, but cannot gulp. I have accepted that, I just keep drinking all day long so I don't feel the need to gulp. (I can drink a 17 ounce bottle of Propel Zero in about 45 minutes now and feel good afterwards.)

I can eat lots of different kinds of foods - I have a sleeve of steel, so nothing has bothered me except for my Bariatric Vitamins. I haven't eaten anything that makes me sick or uncomfortable, I just eat tiny meals.

It's not all sunshine and lollipops, I have good day and I have bad days. For the past several weeks my good/great days outnumber my bad days 10 to 1.

For me, I wasn't going to lose weight on my own and I was so unhappy with my life. 12 short weeks later, I'm down over 50 pounds and living my life for the first time in a long time. food no longer has that grip on me. Sometimes I miss the comfort that food gave me, but that was such an unhealthy behavior. I use food to fuel my body now - like I'm filling up the gas tank in my car.

Hang in there - it will get better.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

fIt it helps, I have been on this board for over 3 years, and almost NO ONE is sorry they got the surgery and the restrictions you end up with in the long run. In fact this is the honeymoon, and those restrictions we feel early on are the very reason we are losing weight. Later it is much easier to eat and drink what and how much you want. I can Gulp Water now, and around 6 gulps I get this little voice saying "STOP!!" I even end up having to hold the last half gulp in my mouth until I can feel the Water empty out of my stomach so I can swallow! It makes me smile really, I know that tummy is still little because I could glug water until the cows came home before surgery. After letting it go down, I can gulp some more. Easy Peasy. Really, now is the time to learn about how to eat less and feel good about it, because later on it might be easy to eat alot more, and hinder weight loss or even have weight gain. It really is a learning curve, but one that can be so enjoyable, and when you start looking like and feeling like the you you want to be, those little things you give up, are just little things. I have foodie friends who were really worried I had ruined my ability to socialize with them around a good meal, but now, they are not worried at all. I do eat less, but I do still like to eat! You will be fine. I think getting into your AA contact about it is a great idea, I can see how this is overwhelming for you, but you will be fine in time. One foot in front of the other.

Edited February 9, 2014 by feedyoureye

[lynn2win 142]

Oh boy reading this made me sad..I am so scarrrrrrrrrrried of the emotional factor...I know just pms once a month is bad for this happy person now I am thinking I am going to be pms for prob 2 months....this and not being able to drink a lot of Water will prob make me rethink having the surgery....I already have dry skin now I am starting to rethink going to my appt on Tues...since my insurance is not all that great this makes me rethink....but then I look and say well maybe if I have my surgery during the spring time will this make it better for me because I am the type of person I don't care for the winter time prob because there isn't much sun and hardly anything to do since we have been having such bad weather here in Ohio. Oh man as I am writing this I want to cancel my appt tomorrow. OK does anyone know if anti depressants or anti anxiety meds would help? or no of anyone who take them maybe I need to look into this.