I applaud your courage for coming out and saying that. I honestly sense how hard that was for you and I commend you for taking this step. Please, get yourself to a kind, understanding therapist who can help you work through these issues. Remember why you had WLS - to be healthy - and fight this. Know that you're in my thoughts. Becky

"Don't think of it as enjoyment but as fuel to nourish your body and help it regain it's health." This is soooo the key!!! When I was laying in the hospital hooked up to artifical nutrition (really not caring too much what happened to me at that point) I had to decide if I wanted to get better or not. I KNEW the doctors were wrong and they weren't going to be able to help me in the long run! (yes, a stroke can and does come from wls!!! It is directly linked to lack of nutrients in your body) These doctors were not going to let me go home. I had to BEG my way out of there and I did it by promising to eat every meal, every day until I was no longer malnutrished. They mandated 100 grams of protein a day - and I wanted to go home sooooo bad that I did it!!!! I had no desire to eat, I could hardly stand the sight and smell of food but darn it all I made myself get through 100 grams of protein each and every day. I got off the IV food and I've done everything possible to stay off!!! The old dont live to eat - eat to live thing is very very true for some of us!!!! laurie

Heather - Girls that took guts and I applaud you for sharing your heart with us. I personally don't feel qualified to advise you in anything except that for your health you really should go see a councelor about this. It's so easy to let things go until it's really bad (trust me I'm the queen of it). Don't wait, do it today. Great BIG HUGS to you today!!!!!! Laurie

Who is out there? It's me! It's me! How are you? I'm doing better everyday (I think, I hope?). Any challenges in your life? Complications? Lost too much? Still have a lot more to lose? Stopped losing? Eating issues? Gaining weight? Falling back into old habits? Health issues abound right now. Labs were off (BTW - Thanks Kathy for helping me understand better how to read my labs as a WLS patient. I was truly comforted and hopefully I will be getting the other test we discussed next week). I'm dealing with quite a bit right now. I am dealing with some kidney issues right now due to some malnourishment which is my own fault. I think that I still need to lose, but all three of my docs are yelling at me to cease and desist immediately. According to them, I should have stopped around 165-170 and I'm down to 152. What have been the biggest good surprises since surgery? Man, where do I start! 1. I like shopping for clothes now and love being able to walk in the "normal" section (although I think that normal is a relative term). 2. My husband calls me the food police. I'm constantly on him and the children about what they're eating/drinking, why they should/should not be eating/drinking that, etc. My entire family gets aggravated sometimes with my nutrition savvy. Who knew I would become an unlicensed nutritionalist! What have been the biggest bad surprises since surgery? 1. The emotional impact of this surgery has been unreal. Please don't get me wrong. A friend of mine told me that WLS is 10% physical and 90% mental and boy do I believe her now. It's been a very difficult ride, but fortunately, I have a wonderful support system at home and online! 2. THERE IS SKIN EVERYWHERE! Fortunately like Kathy, I can hide it pretty well with clothing. Heather Starting: 267 Goal: 155 Current: 153 Lowest: 152

17 mths!! Time just keeps flying by. The very first person I personally knew who had wls had it SEVEN years ago now!!!! That just amazes me! Things have evened out a bit for me. My eatting isn't the focus of my day now. I crave water now, so I don't really have to keep track of it, although I still used bottled water so it's fairly easy to make sure I've opened at least three a day. My weight has stabalized fairly easily. I did drop down lower then I wanted to be after tt, but I'm right back at 130 where I want to be. Old habits? well, I admit that the other day I was soooo emotionally upset that I bought a snack pack of cookies and crunched them all the way home, but it certainly isn't a "habit" anymore. It's a pretty rare occassion now. Biggest good surprises: 1. That I lost my weight at all. After not being able to lose weight, I wasn't all that confident it would work for me. 2. That i lost all my weight so freakin' fast. Nine months to surgeon's goal. WOW !!! That blows me away. Even though I have had some icky rare complications and was sick, I still lost the weight. 3. TT - I never thought a TT would be in my future. I've only dreamed of having a flat tummy and now I do!!!! 4. The attention of others. I've been ignored (at best) and made fun of (at worst) but I'll NEVER forget the day that I went to the library and this good lookin' man opened the doors for me - NO ONE (except dh and my kids) has ever went out of his way to open a door for me!! Actually, I don't know if this one is a good one or a bad one. I remember feeling both elated at it and quite angry at the same time. Biggest Bad Surprise 1. Health Issues - I surely wasnt educated enough on the complications that can happen. Oh, I knew the immediate complications that everyone knows about (leaks, strictures, etc.) but no one ever told me that I could have a stroke from certain levels being out of whack. (heck the surgeon to this day won't admit that it had anything to do with wls). I didn't know how difficult it was going to be to find vits that my body will absorb and keep me in good health. 2. Mal Absorbtion - This was like a "dream" preop. It became a "nightmare" postop. I never ever ever thought that I would mal absorb to the point of costing me my health. I honestly had a hard time thinking that I would mal absorb at all - and boy was I wrong there!!! 3. HERNIA!!!! - I never thought I'd get a hernia. I've bore six children just fine. I've lifted, pulled, done the work of a man many times. I've never had even a pulled muscle. I have wls and then cough and POP, hernia!!! And man do those things hurt. No one in our new town knows that I've had wls and I think the biggest wooo hooo is the fact that I don't talk about it at all (except on here). I just lead a "normal" life. WLS doesn't consume my day anymore!!! People here, just take me for what I am. Of course they look at me and say, "you have SIX children???" and "are they ALL yours" heeeheeheee I'm the best darn lookin mom of six in the county and I love it!!!!!!!