Feeling Old

Heck, I'll be 60 next year and I figure I'm starting another stage of my life.  This time it's for me. I feel 10 years of being thinner, healthier and more active is more valuable than 20 more years of the way I was heading.  I thank the Lord this surgery is available at this time in my life.   As for the way you feel - you're going to have ups and downs while waiting for your surgery. My first downer was the day I went to the grocery store to stock-up on my first 3 weeks of "foods."  I thought I'd go blind studying each can and bottle for the number of carbs, fats, sugars, protein......But then I realized; hey ,it's a learning experience sure.  But one day soon it will be automatic.    I'm only two weeks out (and 15 lb down) but I know I did the right thing. You'll do great I'm sure. Barb

I just did it at 41 and for the first time in a decade I feel like there is more future in front of me. Going through life obese is like having the sword of Damocies hanging over you. I have always had the sense that its only a short matter of time before one of the co-morbidities catches me. Not to mention its a miserable existence. My advice...jump back in time in this forum a year and follow some of our predecessors stories as they track through the first twelve months It is overwhelmingly a positive experience.

Hi Lisa dear, You have a whole lotta life left to live. Your not to old for this..not by a long shot. I did this when I was 41 and I just feel so much better now and healthier. It is hard to foresee the future...but your gonna do fine with the surgery and your gonna feel so much better. Now it is just the waiting game to get there. There are so many emotions that go into this. It is also scary to think of yourself losing the weight as so much of who we are is tied up in being the big girl. But bit by bit and lb by lb your gonna do this. And you will be so happy you did it. I just know it.  Hugs to you, Cathy

Lisa, I hope you are feeling better. Just wait, you have no idea what lies ahead. Always look towards the prize and never look back. You are doing the absolute correct thing and before long you will be on the ride of your life. No worries. Carla

Lisa you're not too old! You and I are both the same age, and believe me as the weight comes off, the better you feel! My back and hip pain is getting better day by day, I have more energy, and a much better feeling of "me" within myself. This is the best thing you could do for you. Be strong, and move forward to the better years of your life! Cathy

Well I am going to be 41 in January and well ok i wish i was 19 again but since im not i am not going to sit around and be miserable i am already planning on buying a new swimsuit this summer and wearing my new batik someone brought me from Hawaii.....( think they call it lava lava) and some of those jeans that u put on a big thick belt with .......and a trip to europe .....geez millions of things.....many of them i would never have been able to afford to do 20 years ago. Live girl its all about U!!!

((lisa))

I'm 47, and I've felt the same way you do!
But I have to say, this surgery has really turned things around for me!
I've only lost about 35 pounds so far and already feel 10 years younger!!

by the time I'm done, I'll probably feel about 13 *lol*


anyway... you're going to feel SO much better after surgery... the "old" you're feeling may have a lot to do with you spending this Christmas without your beloved Granny... when the older generation leaves us behind, we quickly learn that now WE are the older generation.  But remember, 50 is the new 30!! *lol*

Yeah 40 sucks....but think about how much you have lived and learned and loved and been loved over those 40 years. If you hadn't lived every one of those 40 years, you may not be the person you are today. The woman, the mother, the daughter, the wife, the sister, the friend.... 

You couldn't pay me to be 20 again !

Lisa, I share your pain!! I'll be 40 in July and some days I get really stressed about it. I get kind of bummed out because I never finished college and did something "fabulous" for a career.   BUT...I realized the other day...that I still have 27 years in the working world before I can get social security!!!   That's more time than I've been in the work force!!   So...we are STILL YOUNG!!  This surgery has made me realize that...there is still plenty of time to go back to school...to do whatever it is we think we have missed out on.  Heck...my kids are 19 and 12, and they keep telling me to go for things and don't think I'm old at all. Believe in the knowledge you have gained by getting to this age and go for your dreams..there is PLENTY of time! (((HUGS!))))

Gosh, 40 is so young...but I'll tell ya, I am turning 50 in April and I still feel young - and like I am getting younger every day, with every pound that drops away. Think of it this way, maybe - time is NOT going to stop. If you do not do this now, in 10 years you will still be 50, whether you have the surgery or not. The only difference will be how you will look and feel at 50. And with this surgery, according to the latest major study results of lifespan and quality of life after WLS, you are buying yourself another 10 or 15 YEARS of quality, healthy life.

About the question of why we didn't do this many years ago: I was thinking about that the other day. I was actually approved for a GBP about 20 years ago. Three days before my surgery date, I lost my job. I was so young and ignorant that I didn't even know that since my employers were in New York (I was in California), they were required by NY law to continue paying for my medical insurance for 18 months. I simply presumed I no longer had coverage and just didn't show up on surgery day. I was feeling so bad about losing the job - the only time in my life I have ever been dismissed from a position - that I was too embarrassed even to call them.

Anyway, I was thinking about this and exploring whether I felt regrets and so on, and my conclusions surprised me. Considering the state of the art at that time, and the possible complications of GBP, and that VSG didn't exist then, I am GLAD it worked out this way. In addition, I don't think I was emotionally ready for WLS then, but I was when I did it. We are where we are - embrace it, love it, love yourself...you spring chicken, you!

Ros-mari