.: Rana :.
And now here's the down-side....
Mar 04, 2010
Don't get me wrong, I'm still very, very thankful for what this WLS has done for me. I still feel that it's the best decision I've made for myself regarding my health. But folks often ask about what to expect long-term and that data is still being formed. The problem is that if I'm not in the midst of a problem, then I feel like every thing's perfect. I'm now almost 3 yrs out and still have certain "issues". Maybe it's common, maybe it's not, but here is a sample of what I experience:I still have evenings where my food just doesn't sit well. It's kind of hard to explain. I don't get an upset tummy, it's more in my chest/esophagus. Too often I still try to get that "one last bite" in, and still pay for it. It rarely comes back up (it often wouldn't stay down in the beginning), but it certainly isn't comfortable. It's usually the dense meat-protein that seems to cause this, yet that's what I need to eat for my health. For some reason, it's typically at dinnertime that I have this problem. It doesn't seem to occur at breakfast or lunch, but that's probably because I eat different foods at those meals.
I also still have to watch my fluid intake very closely. There is NEVER a day that I don't have to count how much water I've had to drink. It is certainly easier to drink now than it was in those first couple of months, but I still cannot chug a bottle of water. I've been told that folks can't ever chug after VSG (yes, I know, there are a few who can, but that's not the norm). I still cannot take more than 2 or 3 mouth fulls at a time. I have to admit, drinking still feels like a chore. But it's a chore that I must do for my health!
I still have days when I wish that I could eat more at one sitting. This feeling is often short-lived though, as I know that being able to eat so much is one factor in my previous obesity. This goes along with wishing that I could eat endless donuts with no weight gain-- it's a fairytale. I wish I could eat nothing but chocolate and milkshakes all day long and not end up with serious health problems, etc. It ain't going to happen, so I focus on making HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES (this is NOT a diet folks!). I still indulge in certain "bad" foods, but I try to minimize their unhealthy impact by staying away from all high fructose corn syrup and white flour products.
And one last item, but this one doesn't bother me so much these days. When I get very stressed, I cannot eat much. During the first year, it I got very stressed then food just wouldn't go down at all. That or it would just come back up a short time later. It used to be bad enough that if I knew I was going to be stressed (like if I had to fly on a trip), I would start taking my Prilosec again a day or two before. That helped a LOT. It's not that bad now and it hasn't bothered me lately.
So there you have it folks. For me, it's all been worth it though. I'd rather deal with these inconveniences rather than the day-to-day struggles I had with obesity and the health implications from my excess weight. Even if I had known that I'd have these issues (and probably will for the rest of my life), I'd still have chosen to have my VSG. It's still the best choice I could have made for ME.
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About Me
Near Grass Valley, CA
Location
22.0
BMI
Surgery
05/08/2007
Surgery Date
Dec 12, 2006
Member Since
Before & After
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