Regrets

[laurenb80589 1]

Is there anyone who has had any sort of weight loss surgery that has regretted their decision? I am looking at having surgery in July. I am extremely excited for it. Still looking at everything from all ends.

[InfiniteButterfly 438]

I've seen a few posters on here mention regretting the surgery in the short-term. I don't know about long-term though. I know short-term, I couldn't be happier with my decision (my only regret is that it's taking so long to get pain-free enough to resume my pre-surgery walking distances...)

I still consider it one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life.

[LindafromFlorida 1,542]

6 months out and absolutely delighted!<br />

[Bandista 7,466]

I've been on here for almost a year reading post after post and what people seem to regret is not doing it sooner. There is such a feeling of recapturing one's life and enjoying things in a whole new way. I had my surgery last November and I am still so elated. It is very empowering to choose yourself and your health like this. I had not anticipated the kind of relief and joy I have now. Yes the weight loss is great, but more than that is the freedom from that gnawing appetite and all the brain chatter that went along with it.

[Kindle 8,667]

There are plenty of posts from people that initially regret it. Seems these regrets fall under the same few categories....

1) For some reason some people thought they would feel instantly better or lose all their weight in a couple weeks. They aren't giving themselves time to heal from a MAJOR surgery and they may not have realistic expectations.

2) having complications. Of course this would leave you with regret, but again, a lot of times these are normal postop issues that will resolve in time. Those with serious, long term complications definitely deserve to feel regret. But not everyone with complications have regrets.

3) There is often a level of true depression that creeps in post op and IMHO that's something that should involve professional intervention

4) some people just weren't emotionally and mentally prepared to make the necessary lifestyle changes and are disappointed with their weight loss results because this wasn't the magic fix they thought it was.

But if you check with most sleevers longer out from surgery you will find very few regretters. The results far outweigh any of the hiccups they encountered along the way.

As for me, at 5 months out, despite having some postop issues, have not regretted it for a minute. I feel fabulous and look fantastic!

Edited May 24, 2014 by Kindle

[SandyM 1,956]

I have only a few regrets, one not doing it sooner. I also sorta wish I had checked into the sleeve, don't know if my stats would be different, but being maintenance free and port free would be nice. I might still would have chosen the band,

Bottom line is this is a tool. How you use it will determine your success. A lot of people set themselves up for failure by setting unrealistic goals or spending too much time doing parallel comparisons with other people with WLS. This surgery has worked for many of us and not for many others. I have 2 friends who've had the surgery, 1 who lost 116lbs and for no real good reason went back to eating slider foods. I don't think she's regained, just not loosing. The other had all of her Fluid removed when she got pregnant 3 years ago and never put it back in. She gained 80 lbs with pregnancy and refuses to be restricted. On the other side I know a family of 4, 3 are banded and doing great. So, a lot of it is what you make it.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

I've not had a single moment of regret.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

If you search for "regret" you will find a bunch of threads. Mostly it is people going through the agony of not being able to eat their emotions into submission. For some it is a huge and difficult adjustment.

My life has been transformed by the sleeve...no regrets...too busy living life!!!

[Chelly 364]

I have only one regret and that is that I didn't do this when I was younger.

I have had nothing but relief from a lot of medical problems.

I function so much better with my weight lose.

I think that with any surgery there are risks but with WLS they now a days they are minimal to happen.

Best of luck with your up coming surgery.

[laurenb80589 1]

Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback!!! its nice having others to turn to.

[gowalking 10,790]

For those with complications I'm sure there are regrets. It only makes sense. For those who have been successful there are no regrets. I'm one of the success stories. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that I have been reborn. I had almost no mobility due to obesity and severe arthritis. I am writing this post poolside after swimming laps. I can only describe this as a miracle. Really... a frigging miracle. How's that for an endorsement?

[BandedBrunette481 310]

I chose the LapBand and I haven't regretted it once! Ok, maybe right after surgery when I was in pain, I was thinking "what have I done!?" but that was brief and it only gets better the farther out from surgery you get!! Even some people who have complications or have had to have the band removed say they don't regret their decision. I know it's a lot to consider, but I wish you the best of luck!!

If you want to read about my journey, I detailed pretty much everything since I got insurance approval to now on my blog. The link is in my signature. It helped me to read about other people's stories and successes when I was thinking about having surgery

[Domika03 309]

Two regrets:

1) that I had lap-band surgery instead of the sleeve

2) that I should have done this sooner

VERY happy to have done this!!!

[AutumnPunkin 313]

I am still mostly on the fence about regret, but teetering towards minimal regret. I have had a lot of complications, and I mean a lot, but I feel kinda reborn. I have lost almost 140 pounds and can do things so much easier and actually enjoy life. So to weigh the pros and cons of this surgery, the ability to finally live, and have self confidence has been a huge pros. I regret that my health seems so much less "healthy" than pre op as I had no Co-morbidities, and now post op I need to literally watch everything due to complications and be careful with my everyday choices (anaphylaxis risks, pancreatic risks, liver risks and more from this surgery). But at this very moment I feel pretty awesome about my appearance.

So to sum up, regret yes, but at least I am living my life better, which may out weight the regret. My only concern is what long term problems will I have due to complications. Keep in my most of my complications my doctor has never heard of, and was completely unexpected!

[terry1118 1,274]

The one and only regret I have is that I didn't do it years ago. I'm one year out and EXTREMELY happy with my results! :-)