Confused

[kate_0329 30]

I have a meeting with the psychologist and the surgeon on March 31st. I have been working towards this goal of WLS since last August, but now that things are coming together, I'm having second thoughts about actually going through with the surgery. Just wondering if any of you have went through something like this, and what the outcome was?

[pretty.ruby 35]

I did and still do. I had my initial consult and am now set up for the psych eval and a pulmonology as well as a PT eval because of my mobility issues. Every time I think of the what if's I remind myself of when I was 450 plus pounds and what my life was like. We are going to be going through this about the same time.

[Glitterisalwaysappropriate 17]

What is causing you to have your second thoughts?? I'm 6 days post op (2/28/17) and my first two post-op days were extremely rough but I feel 100% better now and can't wait for the next steps in my journey.

I had days where I was a little nervous before but I just kept thinking of all the great things that would result from getting the sleeve. I lost 15 lbs on the pre-op 2 week diet and am down another 8 in my 6 days post-op.

I can't wait to be off all my diabetic and thyroid meds and kick this PCOS that has made getting pregnant so difficult.

I had to do six months of nutrition classes starting last august. This seven month journey has led me where I am and even though my first three post-op days were awful I'm feeling so much better and looking forward to what will come!!

[Lizzyfromnapa 15]

I'm scheduled in 8 days and still try to make excuses to cancel. I tell myself I can do this without surgery...when the reality is, I've tried that and failed many times. A lot of the second guessing I believe comes from feeling hungry after day 5 of 14 of the liquid diet, I feel so hungry and crave food so badly. My point is that I've come so far for this , this is the tough part of the process but I believe there's light at the end of this temporary tunnel. At some point I'll still be able to enjoy food, but in very small portions which gives me something to look forward to.

[elena1 5]

Hi, I don't have a date yet ( very close though ) and I too have the same thoughts as you are. ....

[elena1 5]

Yes.... I am and it's frustrating to me not knowing why [emoji30]

[Glitterisalwaysappropriate 17]

I luckily didn't experience the being hungry during post op... my doctor gave me a daily schedule that spaced out 4 Protein Shakes, one 300 calorie meal, 5 Snacks and about 100 oz of Water.< br>
Changing your life entirely is scary for sure. However in these post 6 days I have had my hungry moments, but also not sure if I was hungry or just hurting lol.

I just try to think bigger picture and if everything I'll be gaining and that's so worth it versus the things I'll be missing out on or can't eat as much of.

It's a lifestyle and mind set change. My hospital program had support groups and they encourage people in ore op to attend to see the results and struggles if those post op. Do you have access to these programs?!

[Lizzyfromnapa 15]

I ask myself, the people who say they are ready for the "lifestyle change" , why can't you just eat less WITHOUT surgery?? That's what it boils down to correct? You will Permanently eat less so if your committed and ready, why not do it for yourself? I battle with this constantly within my own mind

[Glitterisalwaysappropriate 17]

I see exactly what you are saying. However, for me I need this little help. I'm super active- kickboxing, softball, elliptical and other sports. But I'm 32 and due to PCOS it I have a hard time getting pregnant and for me this extra tool will help me get there faster. I've tried things in the past and they haven't worked. I'm 32 and the sooner I can get to my goal the better.

I do what's best for me and this is a motivating tool, it's not easy at all. So anyone who tells me this is the easy way out or questions me, I let them know it's just a different path I've taken after much research and hard work to qualify.

Maybe it isn't for you if you think of it that way. You can still gain the weight back if you don't eat healthy or follow a diet and exercise plan... it just aids in helping you get there.

[kate_0329 30]

Thanks for your responses! I'm 22 right now and I want to have kids, I'm not healthy enough to have any at this point. I guess I'm just conflicted I'm miserable they way I am now. I'm scared of how much loose skin I'll have if I have the surgery , But that's a silly reason to stop, I've gotten this far!

[orionburn 1,024]

4 hours ago, Lizzyfromnapa said:

I ask myself, the people who say they are ready for the "lifestyle change" , why can't you just eat less WITHOUT surgery?? That's what it boils down to correct? You will Permanently eat less so if your committed and ready, why not do it for yourself? I battle with this constantly within my own mind

And many an alcoholic and drug addict have probably said the same things. Why should I go to AA? I'll just stop going to the bars. Or I'll avoid person X & Y who want to get high all the time. WLS is not a magical pill that fixes thing. It is a tool to help long term. It's easy to say that I'm going to stick with my diet this time. This time it's going to be different. All those other hundreds of times I tried and failed were practice, but this time will be different!

Not saying this to be a smart ass. It's just easy to say this time will be different. I'm sure the idea of surgery has scared some people away, they did stick to a diet, and were successful. It's no different than those that were so sure this would finally be the fix they needed but then end up gaining all their way back. I look at WLS like I would going to an AA meeting. Ultimately it is up to me to make the right decisions in leading a healthy life, but the WLS is a tool to help me be successful.

It's not an easy decision, and yes, I went through all the second guessing as well. I had complications with my surgery. Did it suck? Yep. But I don't regret my decision. I worry about things like the loose skin too, but in the end I was more concerned about having a heart attack within the next 5 years because of the extra weight I've been carrying in additional to the other health problems I was facing. I'll take some loose skin over being dead before I'm 50.

Edited March 6, 2017 by orionburn

[Sleeve1stFitNext 924]

1 hour ago, kate_0329 said:

Thanks for your responses! I'm 22 right now and I want to have kids, I'm not healthy enough to have any at this point. I guess I'm just conflicted I'm miserable they way I am now. I'm scared of how much loose skin I'll have if I have the surgery , But that's a silly reason to stop, I've gotten this far!

I am 25 and I know how you feel. I have gone through all the WLS steps and then when I got approved, I started getting nervous and having second thoughts. I was so scared of the loose skin and what my body may look like afterwards that I was starting to talk myself out of it. Then, I was trying to get up a decent amount of stairs. I could feel my weight holding me down. I feel my knees and lungs fighting to get me up the steps. At that point, I realized that I was doing this to be able to do simple things like getting up the stairs. Honestly, now I could care less about loose skin, I will have that cut off. I know I did damage to my body for years of unhealthy eating and I feel like this is my last chance to fix that.

I have severe endometriosis and my chances of having children naturally are slim to none. I have spoken with fertility doctors and they informed me that my size will add difficultly for treatment to work. I am not only doing this surgery for my health but also for the health of my future children. We need to make this change now so that we are great role models for healthy lifestyles when we have our children. Do not let the fear stop you.

[SethV 11]

I struggle with this a lot. I am a chef for a living and I wonder how I will ever be able to do my job effectively in the future. I still have to "talk myself into it" from time to time. Good luck!

[Cape Crooner 589]

I'm 19 months post and while I never had second thoughts going in, I now see things that add to my confidence in my decision.

1. I see friends who killed themselves to successfully lose weight "the old fashioned way" in the same time frame as me put it all back on and more.

2. I see other friends who are very diet and exercise conscious still gain a few pounds a year, eating salads and going to spinning classes. The fact is, as we age it's much harder to lose/keep off extra weight. Which means if you have a serious weight problem now, you'll have a worse one as you age.

3. After 19 months of logging calories and fitness tracking, I can tell you that MY body doesn't metabolize like they say in the diet  books.

I have averaged 2,500-3,000 calories burned each day for 21 months. Pre op, I ate 1,000 calories a day, then post op 400 to start up to 1,000 a day until I reached my goal. Today, I still exercise 90 minutes a day (average 2,750 calories a day and eat 1,200-2,000. Based on the books, I should be skin and bones, but I'm simply maintaining my goal weight (26 bmi).

The one pound lost for every 3,500 burned is bunk. The truth is much harder and impossible for ME without my WLS.

Understand, without WLS, your weight loss efforts will ultimately fail and when they do, you're looking at a short life full of health problems!

Who wants that?

[PatientEleventyBillion 851]

23 hours ago, Lizzyfromnapa said:

I ask myself, the people who say they are ready for the "lifestyle change" , why can't you just eat less WITHOUT surgery?? That's what it boils down to correct? You will Permanently eat less so if your committed and ready, why not do it for yourself? I battle with this constantly within my own mind

If it were that easy we'd not be at this point, but your post certainly adds substance worth thinking about.

The benefit of these surgery tools (and I call them a tool because alone the surgery is useless) is the added help with Portion Control -- the physical changes like dramatically decreased appetite and satiety changes. The other problems need to go, and the person needs to psychologically succumb to the necessary changes that need to happen BEFORE having the surgery. Some may compare it to AA, and in some ways it's similar. food can destroy a liver and other organs just as potently as booze.

In my case I also have severe ADHD so I've had to learn how to cope with that and the redundant signals my brain gets that I'm either hungry or need to eat for (insert reason here) has had to be trained to be ignored and to listen to my stomach rather than my abnormal brain.

Edited March 7, 2017 by PatientEleventyBillion