VSG, Worried About Failing...

Capegin
on 5/4/14 7:36 am

Hello all...

I have my first consult with a bariatric surgeon in a couple of weeks to discuss VSG, and I am having some anxious anticipation and anxiety.  I'm just shy of a 40% BMI, and I have a long history of losing and gaining with Weigh****chers.  I was also a contestant on season 3 of Biggest Loser (sort of), and I lost 113 pounds then.  Needless to say, through all of those attempts, I have not been able to maintain my losses.  I sometimes wonder if I am addicted to food, if that's possible, and if I have some sort of compulsive eating disorder.  I have finally hit the point where I feel like I cannot bear this burden of trying to manage my weight on my own.  I love healthy foods, I would love to have the energy to be more active, I want it more than anything, so having the help of a surgical intervention to aid me in the journey seems like an option I have to consider.  My worry is, however, that I will fail at that, too.  I'm afraid I'll "fall off the wagon" like I always seem to and regain whatever I'm able to lose through this method.   I have recently just given up, and I feel like my eating has been completely out of control.  Attending an info session about surgery, I felt so validated and felt that science and research support what I've felt for years... that this problem is bigger than me simply being to "weak" to stick with anything.  Still, I can't shake that feeling.

Did anyone else feel like this before surgery?  I am hoping to hear from people who felt like this and were able to stick with this change for lifelong success.  I'm also hoping to know I'm not alone.  I often feel like nobody I know has the same relationship I do with food and eating.  When I went to my primary care doctor for advice, she asked, "Do you think you've really wanted it bad enough?"  Gee, no.  When I tried to find a therapist who specialized in food issues, one said, "Well it's really not that difficult to just make simple changes..."  Gee, I never thought of just changing what I eat.  

Anyway, thanks for reading this!  Any response or advice is appreciated!

White Dove
on 5/4/14 10:17 am - Warren, OH

"They" claim that only about 3% - 5% of people can do this without surgery.  I have never personally known anyone who lost more than 50 pounds and still had it off five years later. 

Surgery was the answer for me.  I don't get hungry anymore and can't eat much when I do eat.  However that is a personal decision and in truth I could eat a lot more if I wanted to.  My RNY is a tool and everyday I weigh myself and renew my effort to keep from regaining.

Probably about 50% of those who have surgery are successful in maintaining a healthy weight long term.  That is only my guess, but it is a lot better than having no surgery and almost no chance of maintaining weight loss.

Real life begins where your comfort zone ends

Capegin
on 5/4/14 10:55 am

Thank you so much... those were my exact thoughts.  If I keep going the way I am, I really don't have any chance of long term success.  I just view this as my last shot, and I don't want to blow it, you know?  Thanks for the support!

SunnyGal14
on 5/4/14 10:22 am
VSG on 08/06/14

Hi capepin- I have not had surgery yet, but I could have written this same post about myself! I have found great support on this website so far. I just wanted to wish you the best! You are not at all alone in how you feel.

          

 Vsg on 8/6/14  5'8" HW 266 SW 243 CW 169 GW 155. 

      

 

Capegin
on 5/4/14 10:56 am

Hi SunnyGal,

Thank you so much for the support; I am so happy I found out about this website.  Are there any groups or forums you would recommend?

SunnyGal14
on 5/4/14 11:07 am, edited 5/4/14 11:08 am
VSG on 08/06/14

I would start with VSG forum (click on link).   I enjoy reading the daily meals "what are you eating today threads" even though I'm preop.   Also, click on the forums tab above in the blue box, scroll down to "see all" and there are a ton of other forums to check out.

Edited to add direct link

          

 Vsg on 8/6/14  5'8" HW 266 SW 243 CW 169 GW 155. 

      

 

Gwen M.
on 5/4/14 10:48 am
VSG on 03/13/14

As many state, this surgery only operates on your stomach and not your head.  One of the things that has helped me a lot is finding a good therapist that I click with.  I didn't look for someone that specializes in food issues, I just wanted to find someone that clicked and was willing to learn with me.  After years of therapists I didn't click with... it's that synergy that matters more than all the expertise in the world!  

VSG with Dr. Salameh - 3/13/2014
Diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and started Vyvanse - 7/22/2016
Reconstructive Surgeries with Dr. Michaels - 6/5/2017 (LBL & brachioplasty), 8/14/2017 (UBL & mastopexy), 11/6/2017 (medial leg lift)

Age 42 Height 5'4" HW 319 (1/3/2014) SW 293 (3/13/2014) CW 149 (7/16/2017)
Next Goal 145 - normal BMI | Total Weight Lost 170

TrendWeight | Food Blog (sort of functional) | Journal (down for maintenance)

Bette B.
on 5/4/14 10:57 am

Hey, Ginnie!

I sent you a PM as well, but thought I'd post here.

 Yes, we all - every one of us - worry about f-ing this up. I think that anyone who says they don't is a liar. Why? Because we've managed to f-up every other diet we've tried, or else we wouldn't be here. Here I am, ten-plus years out, still worried that it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong. But here's the difference between WLS and everything else we (you, I and everyone else) tried previously: we have surgery to help us. HELP us, though. The surgery can't do it on its own.

What is YOUR part? Well, you have to:

-listen to your doctor, nutritionist and therapist to increase your odds of success.

-do what you're doing: talk to people who have been there.

-keep in mind that you didn't get obese overweight and you WILL NOT get to lighter overweight, either.

-be kind to yourself and let your body heal. You may or may not lose weight in the healing stage and you have to find a way to be at peace with that.

-exercise. Not to excess and certainly not to the level forced upon you by "Biggest Loser." But it's really going to do a lot for your body, obviously, but it wil also do a lot for your mind. Prior to my surgery, you could not have paid me to go to the gym; now I'm going 3 or 4 days a week.

-follow your surgeon's post op diet. It's there for a reason, and it all goes back to the healing I mentioned earlier. It is possible to SERIOUSLY mess up your recently-operated-upon GI system. Don't risk it.

- remember WHY your had your WLS, where you came from and what your goal is. Your goal should NOT be to reach a "normal" weight, although it certainly is great if you do. But the goal(s) should be longer, happier life, better health, more time in that longer life to spend with your family, spouse and children doing all the things you love and even the things you haven't done for years because your excess weight kept you from it.

 

I'm happy to help you any way I can along the way. Just let me know. Good luck to you!

 

Bette

    

Banded 10 years & maintaining my weight loss!! Any questions, message me.

TexasTerritory
on 5/4/14 7:06 pm
VSG on 07/22/13
Surgery was the right option for me. It is possible to be addicted to food. I was addicted to Dr Pepper-regular with lots of crushed ice. I had to break that addiction. I have been successsful with this addiction. Yet it is a day in and day out process.

I would suggest that you participate in therapy to address your relationship with food. It will impact the required lifestyle changes that you must make post-op.

The neat thing about having an addictive personality is you can become addicted to being healthier and making better choices. I find that I am addicted to making decisions to improve my health. It is so much fun. Retail therapy is addictive since I have lost weight.

Good luck to you.

  

MsBatt
on 5/5/14 6:52 am

If you can lose weight by sticking to a strict diet---about apparently you can---you can lose weight with the VSG. But losing weight isn't the hard part---keeping it off long-term is.

Have you researched a procedure called the Duodenal Switch? It has a VSG stomach, plus an intestinal bypass that permanently alters how your body metabolizes food. It's the form of WLS with the very best long-term, maintained weight-loss stats, period.

×