Wednesday's "Thought for the day...."

SHARING LIFE No matter who we are we all seek, need and want the support and encouragement of others. In our day to day lives we will face many challenges and some we are able to squash and come out wonderfully on the other side. Then there are those challenges where we are broken down some and for some, we tend to forget or forgo asking for help and that is where we begin a cycle that can snowball. In our WLS journeys we are faced with much adversity pre-op and post-op with the varying degrees of the processes. All the testing, poking, weight management and more! Then we become post-op and we face losing weight, more testing, poking, checkups, ups and downs, changing our mental, physical, emotional and for some spiritual outlooks, ways and means. We have lots of questions, lots of concerns whether we're pre or post-op and I'm talking YEARS post-op as well. Some questions we should be asking ourselves are: 1) Are we comfortable sharing personal concerns and questions with others? Whether we've lost too much, gained weight back, are struggling with getting foods/vits in we need to remember we've all been there or are headed there. I've been a part of discussions where folks are really fearful of saying "I've gained weight back", "I don't eat like I'm supposed to but I'd like to get some help with that", "I don't understand why my lab levels are off" and so much more. Its sad because I do know that some are fearful of the gossip, ridicule and what others will say/think. I'm here to say there isn't ONE person here whether a daily participant, now and then or a lurker who hasn't and doesn't and won't face some issues in our journeys. As one of my favorite sayings reads: "perfect only makes you crazy...." I think its incredibly important to rally around one another and realize that we all falter in our journeys and fear in my opinion is THE no. 1 culprit for folks not reaching out when they need help. 2) Why are we so often tempted to try and handle our struggles privately instead of allowing others to help us? Do we REALLY believe that we can handle everything on our own? Do we TRULY think we have all the answers? Do we 100% hands down have all the tips, tricks and information we need? NO! NO! NO! We've got one another and our personal journeys to rely on and learn, teach and grow from. Regardless of WHO we are we have needs and wants and cannot possibly fill those without others. Are there questions you have that you are holding back on? Have you lost too much and are scared? Have you gained weight back and are fearful of being gossiped, ridiculed etc? DON'T BE! Weight for us ALL will be a life long struggle. But, we have tools and one another and that's important!!! GOT ME? 3) How encouraging can we be to one another during our journeys no matter the stage? If I fall down will you be there to help me up? I have faith and hope YOU will be. If you fall will I be there? You best believe I will give YOU my ALL! I remember as a child and early teenage years attending team building events such as Challenge Discovery where we were all different colors, girls & boys, didn't know each other from a hole in the wall and yet we were there for a day and/or weekend and had to rely on one another to get through each challenge. We had attitudes, some of us thought we knew the best ways, we began not to care for one another because of stress, struggles, frustrations etc. In the end, we were basically given choices either suck it up and support/encourage one another and get through the challenges and get to the goal (lunch, break time, water etc). I cannot tell you the sense of commonality, accomplishment, success etc we all came to feel. We had to thrive off one another's strengths and pull on others to help with our weaknesses. Aren't our WLS journeys similar? I hope to hear a glorious YES! All best folks!

Alright!!!!  I am definitely here for you & all the others on the board.  And I feel the love right back at me.  From the very beginning for me it has been a blessing to know there were others out there going through the same things I was.  I actually had a long talk with my nut. the other night about a vitamin issue I had been having & she expressed how important it is for me to share my experience to everyone so that we can note if others are going through the same thing, if it is a concern that should be researched, etc.  It was enlightening & helped me realize how important it is to share the good & the bad of my journey.  :)

Hi kat, Thanks so much I am pre-op. How helpful you are with all your insight on this process.  You are so much appreciated by me and I am sure by so many others. Thanks so much it makes me feel good to know I can come here with all my news ,concers and fears. You  are an amazing person! Lanette

Your postings are so great -- thank you for sharing with all of us, especially us "newbies!"  :)