Scared

Have pre-op meeting next thursday been going through hell for 9 months now im so scared keep hearing horror stories about complication, dying during surgery and living shorter due to surgey getting rny can anyone comment i figue ive waited 30 years i go then or later being fat . I guess being 50 makes me a little more fearful.

You'll find that people with complications tend to post more to try and get answers. There are A LOT who are perfectly fine with zero complications. & I've never heard of living shorter because you had surgery. If this surgery was so full of complications, surgeons wouldn't still do them and insurance companies wouldn't pay for it. & There are people on here who are older than you and had it and are perfectly fine. Also, I'm pretty sure the death rate is like 1-2% which is really low. If you have a good surgeon and if your surgeon has a low complication rate, you should be fine. Just talk with your surgeon and express your fears and ask how often they see complications. Hope you find peace of mind. Thoughts and prayers to you!

The weeks before surgery were the worst part of my journey.  I worried about how I would feel with my intestines rearranged, worried about complications, worried about dying during surgery.

Up until they wheeled me into the operating room, I had thoughts of walking away.

I made sure that my will, living will, and final arrangements were in place.  I wanted to say Goodbye to everyone that I knew, but did not want to make a big dramatic scene, so kept quiet.

After surgery, it was so easy that I wondered what all the worry was about.  I felt the same as before, just not hungry any more.  I kept waiting to see if I would start to feel terrible, but everyday I just felt stronger. 

The weight that had been a burden for so many years just melted away.  It will be seven years in October.  Life has been amazing without being hungry and without being overweight.

I too heard all kinds of horror stories before I had surgery,most involving a friend of somebody' cousin! But at the support group I attended prior to surgery I met lots of people who had had no or very insignificant problems. I was 52 when I had surgery and weighed 260 pounds. I had been overweight my whole life and had constant knee and back pain,diabetes,high cholesterol and uncontrolled high blood pressure. I was out of breath going down my basement steps. I had stopped doing many activities like camping and boating that I used to love because it was too hard to get around. I was miserable! I had gastric bypass on August 29,2012 and had absolutely no complications. I now have normal blood sugars and cholesterol,no back and knee pain and my blood pressure is normal on one small pill. I do dump if I eat too much sugar but because I am careful of what I eat,I have only had problems 2 times in 18 months. It helps me to stay away from the sweets that I used to love before surgery. Exercise used to be nearly impossible but now I walk at least two miles a day and can do crunches and planks with the best of them! I love to walk 5ks now just because I can! I now weigh 120 pounds which at 5'6'' puts me at the low end of a normal bmi. I feel stronger and healthier than I ever have before and am thankful every day for my surgery!

Unless you have very serious health problems NOBODY dies during the surgery. My surgeon told me that in 14 years of doing the surgery he has NEVER lost a patient during surgery. Also I am almost 2 years out 72 years old and have had ZERO problems and lost 147 pounds. I could have gone back to work 3 weeks after surgery but I am retired. My daughter had the same surgery is at or near goal and has had no problems at all and looks like she did in High School. If you do what you are told and stick to your plan you will be happy and health like you never thought you could ever be in your life again. The surgery is a blessing to almost all of us. Don't have fear it does no good at all. Good luck you will do just fine.

People love to tell horror stories.I am not sure why? They will tell you horror stories regardless of what you are having done.

The stories I heard when pregnant with my first made me wish I'd never gotten pregnant! Seriously...there is some sort of sick, macabre need many people seem to have to find the most outrageous, awful things to share with people which are not at ALL helpful!

Just ignore the drama queens and move forward. :)

Misery loves company ...   

The vast majority of us on here had an easy surgery (mine was 40 mins) an easy recovery (I had no pain) lose the weight and get on great with our lives (I'll be 10 years out in a few months)

It's normal to feel nervous - none of us should ever take a surgery like this lightly - it takes commitment for the rest of your life and is a big step, but the freedom it will give you to live a full and productive life is priceless

Good luck!

Awesome words to go by! My surgery is 3/19 and I needed to read these encouraging words from everybody.  :-)

I agree with Kim.I knock on wood have not had any issues with my surgery.I may eat too fast or may not do something I am supposed to do and I feel like crap.But I felt great when I came home from the hospital.I questioned my surgeon if he really did something in there.

I am still a newbie but I am a little past 4 months and I feel great. I can walk around the mall with my daughter and not make some lame excuse that I hurt myself doing something so we could leave. I would take this feeling over the way I felt before.

I was more worried if I didn't do something about my weight I was going to die.And I felt like I was dead in a sense that life was passing me by and I was watching it like a movie.

I was scared before the surgery.But I weighed the pros and cons and it made me feel better.Best wishes to you.