Considering cancelling surgery

[elforman 234]

Hi there @erika702,

I just wanted to check in with you in hopes that you stopped reading many of the replies to this post. This thread went off the rails rather quickly. The internet is a great place to go for recipes and opinions about clothes, music and other things that won't have a significant issue on your health and well-being. It is not the place to go for life-changing advice simply because those giving the advice only know their own experience and quite often they simply assume that the problems they had are the same ones you're experiencing. All they know about you is the few words you typed on a screen and nothing else. Then they assume that worked for them should work for you.

Perhaps you got lucky and something someone said struck a chord with you and you found their advice enlightening, but that's rarely going to be the case. Please, just look inside yourself and for each of the fears and doubts you've had, ask yourself what the real issues behind them are. Like why didn't you stick to the pre-op diet as well as you could have? Was it because it was too difficult, you didn't like it, you found it too hard to give up the food you like, or perhaps something else completely. Then talk to your doctor and perhaps consider professional counseling. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone needs help sometimes and better you should get it from someone educated and trained to help you instead of a group of complete strangers who, while trying to be helpful, may be doing more harm than good.

Do all that for yourself and if it turns out that surgery isn't the right thing for you then at least you'll know why and you won't have to carry that baggage with you. Good luck however things turn out. Please feel free to PM me if you need someone to listen to you instead of telling you what you should and shouldn't do, other than my suggestion to get real help, that is...

-elf

[erika702 16]

This is what I'd say: the surgery is relatively easy. The weeks (and months and years) after are not.
I see people freaking out about following their pre-op diet and that their surgeon will just zip them back up again without doing the surgery, but given the huge variation in surgeon's advice (my surgeon: no pre-op diet, 24 hours of fluids ahead of time and he didn't even have to use the liver retractor) I wouldn't dwell on that horribly. What I WOULD dwell on is whether or not you feel able to resist nibbling on a muffing at 6 days post-op, or thinking of your first McDonald's shake after surgery as a "goal", or planning out how you'll pace Christmas Cookies so you can still eat them all even with a small stomach.
If your fear is of the actual surgery, the risks are pretty few and well-documented. But if your fear is the thought that you will sabotage yourself afterwards through eating choices, then that's a different topic and might mean that cancelling the surgery and working through food addiction issues with a psychologist would be a better use of your time.

My surgeon only asks for 3 days of liquids.< br>

[newself 98]

I'll tell you my experience. I could not lose weight without regaining or giving up. I paid $10k out of pocket, but I think the surgery is worth eyery penny.

I'm about 6 weeks out. I've been lucky and can tolerate just about anything (I have not eaten carbs, had soda or alcohol). I can barely eat 1/2 c at a sitting HOWEVER an hour after eating I could eat again if I chose. I look at my kid's plates and would love to have just a taste. I could probably drink milkshakes without a problem. All of this is to say that the surgery is just the first step and a tool- some days I fight mind hunger, craving etc all day long. THAT for me is the hard part. Only you know if you will be able to control those parts of this journey.

I wish you only the best and please know that my 2 cents is worth exactly that, 2 cents.

[aNYCdb 310]

2 hours ago, KatFight said:

My surgeon is the founder of a Center of Excellence and has had to sew many patients back up who failed to follow directions and their livers were too large. Be careful of dispensing advice contrary to medical advice. Very dangerous.

I'm pretty sure that your doctor didn't cut someone open to verify the size of their liver (perhaps that's what they tell you to scare you). The reason being not everyone's liver shrinks the same on the pre-op diet, which is why they use a device to move it out of the way if it is too big (I would think a "center of excellence" would be able to deal with that). Secondly they generally gauge whether your liver has shrunk by looking at your blood to see if the level of Alanine Aminotransferase has decreased.

[Sosewsue61 3,185]

I ate tuna and cottage cheese on the 10 day Liquid Protein diet, I was nearly passing out on 800 caloeies of Protein Shakes and those few ounces of tuna and cottage cheese help me make it through, but I did do clear only the last two days as prescribed, and I am fully committed to my sleeve. I have a friend that also had ONLY a 3-day liquid diet, not 10 and she did fine w/o the liver shrink of 10 days, plus she went straight to mushy food at 3 days as per her physician.

I still have no major hunger at 5 months, I need food and can tell an empty stomach plus fuzzy brain means I need to eat something. I don't crave anything. I have eaten off plan with Desserts on a cruise I took, but it has not caused me to go crazy craving carbs - I could be lucky, or maybe there is a timer set to go off somewhere and these benefits will disappear (or government legislation who knows lol). I don't intend to test this out very often, I also don't intend to be a martyr or pretend to have all the answers. This is very dependant on each individual's response and the work you must do to understand your relationship with food.

[FluffyChix 17,409]

42 minutes ago, aNYCdb said:

I'm pretty sure that your doctor didn't cut someone open to verify the size of their liver (perhaps that's what they tell you to scare you). The reason being not everyone's liver shrinks the same on the pre-op diet, which is why they use a device to move it out of the way if it is too big (I would think a "center of excellence" would be able to deal with that). Secondly they generally gauge whether your liver has shrunk by looking at your blood to see if the level of Alanine Aminotransferase has decreased.

Please know that people with liver disease may sometimes present with perfectly normal ALT and AST.

[erika702 16]

Hi there [mention=336667]erika702[/mention],
I just wanted to check in with you in hopes that you stopped reading many of the replies to this post. This thread went off the rails rather quickly. The internet is a great place to go for recipes and opinions about clothes, music and other things that won't have a significant issue on your health and well-being. It is not the place to go for life-changing advice simply because those giving the advice only know their own experience and quite often they simply assume that the problems they had are the same ones you're experiencing. All they know about you is the few words you typed on a screen and nothing else. Then they assume that worked for them should work for you.
Perhaps you got lucky and something someone said struck a chord with you and you found their advice enlightening, but that's rarely going to be the case. Please, just look inside yourself and for each of the fears and doubts you've had, ask yourself what the real issues behind them are. Like why didn't you stick to the pre-op diet as well as you could have? Was it because it was too difficult, you didn't like it, you found it too hard to give up the food you like, or perhaps something else completely. Then talk to your doctor and perhaps consider professional counseling. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone needs help sometimes and better you should get it from someone educated and trained to help you instead of a group of complete strangers who, while trying to be helpful, may be doing more harm than good.
Do all that for yourself and if it turns out that surgery isn't the right thing for you then at least you'll know why and you won't have to carry that baggage with you. Good luck however things turn out. Please feel free to PM me if you need someone to listen to you instead of telling you what you should and shouldn't do, other than my suggestion to get real help, that is...
-elf

Thankyou!

[aNYCdb 310]

5 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Please know that people with liver disease may sometimes present with perfectly normal ALT and AST.

I am aware, but the change in AST is what doctors look for to guage the potential shrinkage pre-surgery (both the before and the after may both be in "normal ranges" [which I believe is usually <40 for AST]). That said my point was that cutting someone open to gauge the size of their liver only to sow them up again is not the common practice. If they still have an oversized liver they use EndoLift or similar scaffolding device (in fact the use of these devices is usually discussed in the presurgical disclosure/consent that you sign).

[Losebig 508]

I personally found I was more motivated post surgery. I had a lot going on going into the pre op diet and definitely had some cheats on it (nothing crazy). Post surgery has been great as has weight loss. This is a big and life changing decision though and you need to make sure it is what you want to do. Personally I was scared going into it and yes at times I do miss being able to eat and the enjoyment food used to bring. I am happy with my choice and my new relationship with food, temporary enjoyment of food was a trade off I'd make again in second for health and fitness.

[sillykitty 10,705]

There is a lot of "one size fits all" advice here. I'm going to add my experience, not that it will be yours, but as a counterpoint to some of the other posts on here

• I'm 6 weeks post op, down 30 lbs - easiest weight I have ever lost
• I have zero physical hunger, none at all
• I do have cravings/head hunger. If I eliminate triggers, commercials, smells, cooking shows etc., then I go back to not being hungry
• Without hunger, it is easier to make good choices, skip over the mashed potatoes at the buffet and go for the chicken
• My stomach capacity at this point is 1 oz of solid food, so even if I give into cravings, I can't do too much damage
• When I have food I'm craving, it doesn't taste as good as I remembered
• I have had alcohol & carbs, I've become neither an alcoholic nor a carb craving hunger monster
• I had no preop diet, and if I had, I would have been terrible at it
• My surgeon has done 1000's of surgeries, without preop diets to shrink the liver
• I maybe alone in this, but I also had no pre op anxiety, The only point I felt nervous was once I got into the OR
• I plan to get plastics as soon as I get to goal weight (or as soon as I can spare the recovery time!), I'm going to do this because, I'm vain, but also to keep myself motivated to keep the weight off

Hope this helps dispels some of the doom and gloom, and I wish you the best!

[wjgo 272]

7 hours ago, erika702 said:

Im scheduled for surgery on sat im really considering cancelling, and try on my own one more time. I havent done the preop diet right have zero motivation. Im scared and anxiety is through the roof. Has anyone had more motivation after surgery? Any thoughts anyone else has thought and done surgery?

I didn't think of canceling surgery, but when I was cleared, it took a long time, after several calls made to me to pick a date, and then I moved it 3 months later.

There are a bunch of threads about the anxiety people go through pre-op. I would say its common thing. Its also common to have no motivation before the liquid diet, and go off diet and have some fun. My anxiety lasted for 2 days before surgery, and I got about 3-4 hour sleep total. I developed a fear that I could not go through the post-op diet stuff.

I think I was admitted or created in a hospital 5 times in my life, birth, tonsils at 7, a broken chin from a highschool disagreement 30 years ago for stitches, and from a car accident with cracked ribs 10 years ago. Only surgery was my tonsils. So, the entire experience to me was surreal. I remember going into the operating room, talking to some of the people there, then, I was out. I woke up with flight reaction and was being held down for 2-3 minutes. All I wanted to do was sit up, and get off the bed, my eyes were not even open. I calmed down in the recovery room, really groggy, and witnessed the same flight reaction in another patient that woke from anesthesia. I was sitting there, wondering what the hell I got myself into.

Since then, it all got better, and I damn wished I started it as soon as I got the clearance. Its my only regret. There is a hidden anxiety over your body being physically changed, and what seems to be burdensome diet challenges after the surgery. But the post-op diets are far, far easier than pre-op. I had my surgery 1 week ago and 10 hours. Now, time can't go fast enough.

I think you should look through the forums for the before/after picture threads. Just the other day, a gentleman posted, that his sleeve surgery was the greatest thing he ever did in his life. I think its the greatest thing, apart from childbirth, than anyone here has ever done too.

If you are concerned about the surgery type, it seemed to me that the sleeve was the easiest to do, least complicated, and has less medical restrictions/requirements than the bypass.

[Danny Paul 761]

7 hours ago, erika702 said:

im lucky enough to pay for this out of pocket

Erika, think about this as an investment. It's an investment in your health and well being but also an investment that will cost you some money. Before you invest money in the weight loss operation that might not be effective go to a professional counselor who specializes in eating disorders or bariatric surgery. Work out your trepidations with the counselor. If it helps you to become successful in your weight loss journey it will be money and time well spent. On the other hand you might find that WLS is not the answer for you. When going through insurance we have to get a psyche evaluation. Since you are paying out of pocket you probably didn't get one. Every poster here has given you his or her insight based on their experience. Those experiences might not necessarily be yours. Make the smart investment, confer with a mental health professional. You can always schedule the surgery at another date. You owe it to yourself to be as thorough in the process as possible. Good Luck and I'm sure I speak for the others when I say we are hoping for the best outcome for you.

[KatFight 207]

4 hours ago, aNYCdb said:

I'm pretty sure that your doctor didn't cut someone open to verify the size of their liver (perhaps that's what they tell you to scare you). The reason being not everyone's liver shrinks the same on the pre-op diet, which is why they use a device to move it out of the way if it is too big (I would think a "center of excellence" would be able to deal with that). Secondly they generally gauge whether your liver has shrunk by looking at your blood to see if the level of Alanine Aminotransferase has decreased.

You must be kidding me. Of course the surgeon doesn’t “cut someone open to verify the size of the liver.” It was determined when surgery was attempted that the liver was too large. It does happens that’s why there’s a protocol prior to a surgery date. It’s dangerous to have too big of a liver and it puts the patient and doctor at risk. A Center of Excellence is comprised of surgeons who do not want to place patients in unsafe situations so no, they are not expected to move your too big liver to satisfy your wants.

You seem to be someone who wants to go against medical protocol. Each to their own. My preference was to listen. 😡

[Nikki46vsgjourney 4]

Erika, this is simple..it’s your choice and your body. We can offer advice and stats and say what our surgeons did, but in the end it’s your decision. Sit down somewhere quiet and really think about this. I wish you the best in everything.

[Kahkeetsee 64]

I was on a program 4 years ago, lost 80 pounds in the required 6 months, then cancelled 3 days before the surgery. I gained back the 80 pounds in 6 months, my mobility for bad.and I had 3 falls.last year. New state new program started now and plan is for a May surgery. I am 55 and have wasted too much of my life. I want to MOVE!

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