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Honesty from Psychologist?



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Today I saw the psychologist. Nothing like what I thought it would be. The process to this surgery and the support I thought would be there may not be there much at all. She looks more at what the behaviours are of the patient, nothing much else, and assesses if the person can manage the life changes after. They're so busy! Slammed with back to back appointments and short on dieticians. It's early days yet I suppose.

So I asked the Psych to tell me not only good outcomes but some of the feelings from people (if there were any) with outcomes that didn't make them very happy. She said that for some they say they don't feel good - this did alarm me. I don't feel good now, it's my goal to feel better after this surgery, not feel sick and tired much like I do now!

How do you all feel after the surgery? Good , bad, somewhere in between?

Once I pass nutritionist (apparently I haven't proven that I can make changes yet!), then I will likely meet the surgeon in January....

Edited by TracyBar

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Well, i can tell you the honest truth for me. I had my surgery oct 4th, and the 4 days i spent in the hospital i was great, but when i got home on my own, i honestly felt like crap. I didnt grt my Water in everyday nor my Proteins. I couldnt take 4 sips without cramping because i was full. So i ended up having to set an alarm to do a 1oz of Water every 15 minutes. Im on the puree phase now. My dr was before i got to this pbase, i was scared that i was throwung up if i tried to drank a Protein shake so no Protein. But they were more concern with me getting the fluids in. So i let myself get dehydrated and bouncing back from that makes you so tired. You dont wanna do anything. But like i said, everyone is different and so you have to go with your experiences.

Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

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Initially after surgery, you're gonna feel like crap. Different people have different tolerances. For me, the pain is totally manageable with the medication, it doesn't bother me at all. The surgical gas is the real delight, and I can usually get that all worked out of my body after 3-4 days. By the seventh day post-op, I was walking 2 miles a day, getting up and down easily, no problems. Now I'm going into week 5 post-op and I feel very good.

Don't let yourself get psyched out by horror stories, they happen sometimes (mine was with my gall bladder, about four years ago) but you survive, you heal, and you put it behind you.

Edited by PorkChopExpress

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I've felt better and better since getting through the initial fatigue and soreness of surgery. Right now at 51 I feel better than I ever have in my life. No stomach or digestive problems ever, tons of energy. Plus, emotionally and psychologically I'm much more healthy.

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AS others have said, I felt like crap for about the first month after surgery. Day 2 & week 3 kicked my butt.

Now I'm at 3 months out and I feel...fine. But be aware, i felt fine BEFORE surgery too, even at a higher weight. My brain is still processing being smaller and I'm having to prove to myself with Non-scale victories that there are changes happening. My energy level is back up and I'm back to doing the things I did before (yoga 2-3 times per week, belly dancing 1-2 times per week) but like I said..I did all that before too.

If you feel going in that there will be little support after, perhaps finding a therapist or counselor to help you through the process after is a good idea.

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      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.
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      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • 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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