Is it worth it?

[Jasminelums 50]

I struggle with the same thoughts. The surgery seems so drastic which is fine but what scares me the most is the complications. I am deathly scared of inviting those post op complications because I know I will regret having bad the surgery.

I wish there was a way to know if I'd get severe complications or not ????

I've read on here people losing the weight but the quality of life being sub standard due to myriad of issues that they inherit from the surgery????

[mykdzmom 387]

This post is interesting to me because in 2012 I started the 6 month weight loss pre cert for VSG and backed out at 4 months because I thought that the same thing. This is too drastic, and I resolved to lose the weight without surgery.

Fast forward to 2014, 2 years later after 3 failed diet attempts and over 30 pounds heavier my husband had an accident that left him unable to walk for 3 months during recovery. My weight limited my ability to help him and worse yet I can't imagine how I would have coped if it had happened to me. THAT WAS THE MOMENT I REALIZED THAT BEING MORBIDLY OBESE IS EXTREME. it sounds crazy, but it is so true. Isn't diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease extreme ? It was a real turning point for me.

I again started the 6 month ore op with a different frame of mind. I had surgery September of 2015 and I couldn't be happier.

Do what it right for you!

Good luck on your journey!

[TMW2016 36]

Thanks for sharing! I definitely went through with it and I know it was the best decision for me! I'm glad you took a leap of faith and is sitting on the loser bench with us!!!

This post is interesting to me because in 2012 I started the 6 month weight loss pre cert for VSG and backed out at 4 months because I thought that the same thing. This is too drastic, and I resolved to lose the weight without surgery.

Fast forward to 2014, 2 years later after 3 failed diet attempts and over 30 pounds heavier my husband had an accident that left him unable to walk for 3 months during recovery. My weight limited my ability to help him and worse yet I can't imagine how I would have coped if it had happened to me. THAT WAS THE MOMENT I REALIZED THAT BEING MORBIDLY OBESE IS EXTREME. it sounds crazy, but it is so true. Isn't diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease extreme ? It was a real turning point for me.

I again started the 6 month ore op with a different frame of mind. I had surgery September of 2015 and I couldn't be happier.

Do what it right for you!

Good luck on your journey!

[RNYDawn 160]

@ Thank you times a million for this answer. I feel so similar. My rny is in four days.

I was trying to explain this to my mom - that I just have this bottomless pit of hunger that never feels satisfied. I cannot wait to not be hungry. To be satisfied and satiated after a few bites of something wonderful.

I'm really nervous and excited but your post really brought home what I am feeling and what I hope my results are as well

[The Candidate 3,215]

@ Thank you times a million for this answer. I feel so similar. My rny is in four days.

I was trying to explain this to my mom - that I just have this bottomless pit of hunger that never feels satisfied. I cannot wait to not be hungry. To be satisfied and satiated after a few bites of something wonderful.

I'm really nervous and excited but your post really brought home what I am feeling and what I hope my results are as well

You're welcome! I'm so happy to hear that my post helped dispel some of your apprehensions. It has most definitely changed my life for the better in ways I never even dreamed.

Good luck on your surgery and let us know how it goes. You have a glorious new life ahead of you!

[Tdot77guy 13]

Thank you to the OP for posting this and I appreciate all the responses too. I am scheduled for bypass on March 12 in Tijuana. I am going through thoughts telling me its not worth it. You can do it on your own. But after reading all the responses here I think I am making the right choice by using this surgery as a tool for long term success.

I find myself on these forums every time I start getting doubts and after logging on I calm down when feeling anxious. Thank you all for your comments. You never know what you typing is getting people through some difficult self doubts.

[JapGirl 229]

It's 100% worth it. I'm only 3 days post op and ive already lost 4lbs since my surgery date. And I didn't have to starve or torture myself to lose that 4 lbs.

Edited February 27, 2016 by JapGirl

[tiggerlillie 12]

I am pre op and have always felt I would never need to do this that I could do it myself. Well I have done it myself and the weight always crept back on. For me it was about control (needing to keep it lol). Now I need both knees replaced. My doctor again recommended surgery except this time gently said " let go of your ego". Well this hit home for me and here I am. I am embracing the gift of this surgery and knowing I will get new knees too is nothing but a win/win. I am grateful for my doctor and his honesty and his genuine care. Everyone I speak to says they wished they had it sooner.

Looking to live life again

[Spinderella 9]

@, I too am thankful for your post.

I think my current concern is that with me being morbidly obese and having so much weight to lose that even though I know the surgery will be a huge game changer and be the tool I need to help finally keep the weight off, I think I'm also concerned and have some reservations about what the final outcome will be with my body.

I worry about all the excess skin that I currently have and will have even moreso once my body had lost the weight that I need to lose. I know almost 100% that it will be cumbersome and difficult to function with it, as well as health-wise cause a lot of issues. I see so many wonderful people on here post their successes and look great (of course, no one is perfect by any means) for all the hard work they've put in, but I know a lot of them were half my size when they got their procedure and may not of had to deal with as much of the physical drawbacks to getting WLS.

I'm just so worried that I may cause myself to be even more physically awkward then I already am. Surprisingly, I don't suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure - but do have high triglycerides. Ugh. I'm so overwhelmed that I won't be able to reap any of the benefits of this journey like others have before me. And yes, I always feel like I'm the negative exception to the rule. (Which I hate doing to myself, but can't help but feel that way)

Can anyone else relate?

[catwoman7 3,599]

@@Spinderella - I started out quite a bit lighter than you, but still super morbidly obese, and I worried about the excess skin as well. But I can tell you, it's worth the loose skin. I was one of the lucky ones who didn't lose any hair, but it would have been worth every lost hair, too!!

[ridgerunner 115]

@, I too am thankful for your post.

I think my current concern is that with me being morbidly obese and having so much weight to lose that even though I know the surgery will be a huge game changer and be the tool I need to help finally keep the weight off, I think I'm also concerned and have some reservations about what the final outcome will be with my body.

I worry about all the excess skin that I currently have and will have even moreso once my body had lost the weight that I need to lose. I know almost 100% that it will be cumbersome and difficult to function with it, as well as health-wise cause a lot of issues. I see so many wonderful people on here post their successes and look great (of course, no one is perfect by any means) for all the hard work they've put in, but I know a lot of them were half my size when they got their procedure and may not of had to deal with as much of the physical drawbacks to getting WLS.

I'm just so worried that I may cause myself to be even more physically awkward then I already am. Surprisingly, I don't suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure - but do have high triglycerides. Ugh. I'm so overwhelmed that I won't be able to reap any of the benefits of this journey like others have before me. And yes, I always feel like I'm the negative exception to the rule. (Which I hate doing to myself, but can't help but feel that way)

Can anyone else relate?

Spinderella, I know it has been awhile since you posted but I saw much I identified with and felt compelled to respond. I too am morbidly obese 51 BMI. And I too have little to no complications from being so large...yet, how long can that last at this weight? Not much longer I suspect. Also, as I grow older I feel my body being affected more and more by the excess weight...body aches, joint pain, fatigue, feeling winded. And quality of life issues...trouble tying shoes, unable to make long shopping, unable to fly because I can't fit in the seat (or even some theater seating!) and many, many more. I have concerns about what my body will look like after with all the loose skin, hair lose and probably more wrinkles on my face , and I have worried about all the things that can potentially go wrong during and after surgery. But for me...and this is just me...even with all these worrisome and even dangerous possibilities, I gotta go with taking the chance that this surgery will change my life for the better and maybe even save it. I hope you are now closer to deciding what you want for you. I know it is hard. Good luck to you.

Sent from my LG-E980 using the BariatricPal App

[DarkAndDreaming 0]

Glad I'm not alone! I'm preop bypass and find myself flip-flopping between giddiness and sheer terror.

[Spinderella 9]

@@catwoman7 - I appreciate what you say and I'm starting to look past all those specifics and looking at the end game in all of this. Thank you for your words of support! *hugs*

@@ridgerunner - I hear what you're saying and it's so crazy how I start to focus on the things I mentioned previously and how I've worked through those things, but after going to my PREOP class, I've now been presented with a bunch of other issues that are plaguing me. I just wish it wasn't like that, but I know I need to research all of those things and try to make sure that this is going to ultimately be right for me.

I just learned more about having to use the Lovenox for 10 days after I'm discharged. I don't know how I'm going to administer that to myself and my husband is leery of giving me the injections himself. Now I got to figure out how that's going to play out. Plus, I was never told until I went to my class about my birth control pills and how we're supposed to stop them THREE weeks before surgery. *sigh* They just rescheduled my surgery to April 7th due to the surgeon's personal need and now I'm only 2 weeks and four days out from then. The problem is, I can't really stop my pills. If I do, it'll immediately start my period and it won't stop for months on end. I know this is all to prevent blood clots and I know how serious that is, but the RNs in my class were concerned about the blood loss, too.

I really wish I had more information about all this beforehand. It seems like my surgeon's office did not properly prepare me with the details that are so detrimental to my recovery and overall health before hand and now I'm in a sticky position. I now need to research this a little more and bring this up to others that may have been in the same boat. Apparently, my surgeon (per his medical assistant) isn't a stickler about it and is OK with patients that have to stay on it, but I don't want to make my chances for a blood clot to be even higher. We just lost a girl in another group I'm a part of this month who died due to a blood clot while she was in the hospital right after her surgery. I know, I know, like that helped matters, but that poor girl. What a crazy situation we're all in, right?

I really do appreciate your comments, though. I mean, it's helpful to see there is a few more here who are going through this in the same weight class as I am. *hugs*

Edited March 20, 2016 by Spinderella