i get nervous........

I get nervous when i read the post from people who say the wish they had never done this. I mean the good out "weigh" the bad by far. I know my reasons out "weigh" the reasons not to not do it. I have a counselor. My husband and step dad both support me 100%. I have a few friends i have told who are in my corner. I am in my corner. (I am nervous and scared about surgery and about life after the surgery. yet, i am more scared about life without the surgery. Does that make sense?) I have been reading alot of past posts looking for guidence and wisdom, tips and tricks and so forth. I wont like some of the time it can be scary.

I admit that I don't see many posts along those lines, and certainly not from people who are past the initial "oh **** what did I do to myself" period. I.e., I don't put much weight into posts that say "I wish I'd never done this" when they're made within the first 2-4 weeks of recovery. Most of the posts I see from people who are a year or more out are people who say "I wish I'd done this sooner" and "I'd do it again if I had to" and "this is the best thing I've ever done for myself."

I found reading through the forums to be super useful pre-op because I felt like it gave me a good sense of what I was getting into. I could prepare the people in my life for the chance that I might hate life for the first 2-4 weeks after surgery, for example. And I saw lots of people who were 3+ years out from surgery and I saw what they were eating and the lives they were living and that was all super reassuring for me.

Maybe thats the ones i am see just a few weeks out, then. that makes me feel alot better. i will warn those closest to me! that i might be a little emotional. i have found alot of information on here to be helpful. i am still working my way through the posts. i have printed off some of the stuff and have started a folder to keep with me.

Typically if you see someone here (more than a few weeks out of surgery) saying "I wish I had never done this," they either:

1. Had/have complication(s) that they have not/cannot/will not have corrected
2. Never addressed the core mental issues behind their food-related behavior(s) (and hence are upset that they can't self-medicate with food anymore)
3. Or, as #2 above, but now they have regained some/all/more than they started

So... if/when you see such posts, keep that in mind. Instead of letting it frighten you, use it to reinforce your own desire to be successful.

Thank you. I want to be successful more than you know. I am a self-pay so to me failure is not an option. thank you for taking the time to offer you kind words!

I'm in the same boat you are. I know I need it, and I want it, but I'm nervous!!! I just keep educating myself! The odds are with us, not against us.

We can do this. I have a counselor, who is great. I have been seeing her for a year. I am ready to make this life change. I do however get a little nervous knowing food wont be my constant friend anymore. But my pre-op diet is teaching me a lot!

I'm 6 weeks post op and I can say that I haven't had a single moment of "why the hell did I do this", I kept waiting for those feelings as I was sure that everyone went through it. I can only put it down to really working the program and being very informed about the whole process.

I do, like many, wish I had the opportunity to do it years earlier, but no I've had regrets at all and no pre op nerves or doubts.

Thanks for replying. I hope I am like you. I have a friend who swears this will be the BEST thing I have ever done. I am holding on to that. She is my sounding board and my go too!

I'm definitely the same as you on the no regrets/no doubts front. Even with the really horrible first week post-op from my first round of reconstructive surgery I never once questioned if it was worth it.

There's certainly a wide spectrum of "normal" for bariatric surgery (and, I'd imagine, most surgeries) which is one of the things I love about OH. Without the forums, I'd never know how much variation there is on the spectrum of normality!